Our time in Berlin

alles in Ordnung.......aber sehr spät!

2011-02-15T07:30:00.000+01:00

Everything is well with us, we have a lot of blogging to catch up on with lots of travelling, and starting again in Australia,.
Bear with us while we get the blog updated, as well as our lives!
Stay tuned!!!

Leaving Bongani , arriving at Exeter

2010-10-13T05:45:00.145+02:00

It was with great sadness that we left Bongani this morning. We have had some fantastic experiences while we were there, and we hope that one day we will be able to come back again. If ever you decide to go on safari, Bongani is a fantastic place to encounter the most amazing wildlife.
We thank Steve and Aaron for our incredible wildlife encounters, and wealth of knowledge that they passed on to us.

We said our goodbyes and headed north to our next stop. Along the way we stopped at Hazyview for petrol and a leg stretch. We wanted to get some money out of a cash machine, but the machine at the petrol station was broken, and the guy repairing the machine couldn't tell us if it would be ready in 5 minutes or an hour.

Outside also filling up their car were a couple of policemen. So we thought we would ask them if they knew where the closet cash machine was. The police were fantastic, and said we will take you there, just follow us. So we got in the car, and followed them into town to the closest cash machine. While we were getting cash out, they waited for us, and then got us to follow them to the main road again so we could continue to Sabi Sands. They gave us a wave and we continued on our way! We were thrilled and so grateful for their assistance!

A fairly uneventful drive north to Sabi Sands, and we got a laugh from the hippo signs on the road, as we are more used to kangaroo, koala and wombat signs. I would hate to think of the damage to the car if you hit a hippo on the road.

We got to the edge of the Sabi Sands entrance, signed in, and had a 12km drive to Exeter River Lodge. We were in the game park. Don't get out of the car, keep your windows up if you encounter lions. Nicole was petrified, and not comfortable at all on the 12km journey to the camp.

We got to Exeter River Lodge, and encountered these gorgeous warthogs along the path!

We had 2 rooms booked. Phil and Alexander were in one, and Nicole and Cameron were in the other one. There was no way Nicole was comfortable with the kids being in a room by themselves and us not being able to get to them in the middle of the night (we needed a security guard to escort us in the evenings - especially with the local leopard who likes to drink from the dip pools on the balconies).

The rooms were stunning.

The foyer.

Lounge area

Beds, with bathroom in the distance

View from the bed, dip pool, and just below the dip pool is the grassy area just before the river.

Bathroom, with big windows to view while you shower

Bath, and the view of the outdoor shower. Phil tried it out and said it was fantastic, Nicole was still freaking out about the local leopard, and was happy to bath inside.

In the lounge room were these amazing animal guide books. The kids were thrilled with them, and took them while we were out on game drives to see which animals they could tick off. Cameron loved seeing all the different type of birds.

We settled in to our rooms and then met back at the main lodge to meet Ronny, our "butler" for our visit. Ronny was fantastic, a charming, sincere and funny man who looked after us. He proudly showed us photos of his adorable children, they live in one of the local villages close by. Ronny made the kids his "famous pink" non alcoholic cocktail, which quickly became the kids favourite drink in South Africa!

The main lodge is open, they have some issues with the local monkeys which we experienced the following day, so they have to be careful with food and drink. The monkeys show no fear and are happy to walk right up to the tables to grab a piece of fruit or a drink. The boys thought they were hilarious! (much happier with the monkeys than the baboons!)

After a quick bite to eat for afternoon tea, we met our driver Craig and our tracker, Martin who would look after us for the few days we were at Exeter. Craig wanted us to make it a quick snack, as 4 lions had been spotted not too far away, and he wanted to show us the lions before they took off again. We didn't need too much encouragement, so we skulled the drinks, put on the mosquito repellent and we were on the jeep fairly quickly. We were pretty excited, but also cautious as those 2 lions in the boma at Bongani had given us a real scare when they let out a tiny roar....and we were ok with that as they were behind a fence...this was totally different!

Exeter sits on about 10,000 hectares of land, so lots of room, our tracker, Martin was great, along with being in radio contact with other safari vehicles who were also on the lookout for animals.

So, we found the 4 lions fairly quickly and we followed them for awhile. The kids complained that Nicole was squeezing them so tightly. Those lions were hungry! They were thin and you could see their ribcages. They were following a scent of something, and then were on the move. Nicole hoped the lions wouldn't see the kids as a tasty snack before the main event!
Not easy to take photos, but we got this one, you can see those ribs!

After following the lions for a few kilometres we left them alone to find other animals. Cameron was really hoping to see a live attack, but Nicole was quite sure he would find it distressing. Thankfully we left before they caught up with whatever they were tracking.

We also saw

Elephants

Bushbuck

Slender Mongoose

Nyala

Impala

Waterbuck

Chameleon

Scrub Hare

White tail Mongoose

Duiker

Birdlife

Greater Blue Starling

Grey Go-Away-Bird

Crested Francolin

Natal Francolin

Swainson's Francolin

Magpie (Longtail) Shrike

Arrow-marked Babbler

Saddlebill Stork

Southern Yellow Billed Hornbill

Red-billed Hornbill

Fish Eagle

Fork-tailed Drongo

Fiery-necked Nightjar

Back at the lodge, Ronny was waiting for us with an amazing dinner on the balcony of the main lodge. We managed to see the local leopard wandering beside the river, then we were safely ecorted back to our rooms for a good night sleep.
It was a great day and we hoped that perhaps the following morning we would hear if the lions caught up with whatever they were following.

Safari Day 5. Bongani Mountain Lodge

2010-10-12T04:00:00.098+02:00

Morning Drive.
Up at the usual time, the storm had cooled the air down and it was back to a comfortable temperature again. Armed with enough mosquito repellant to cover a small army (we were on guard when it came to malaria), we head off again with Steve and Aaron.

It was just the 4 of us today, and Steve asks us as we drive off "What do you want to see today?"
"Zebras and Wildebeest, we haven't seen any yet" says Nicole. Aaron looks at Steve and laughs, we are not sure what that means. So Aaron just says "We will see what we can do", and off we drive.

2 days before Cameron had borrowed Steve's mammal and bird guide books, which he read front to back during the day. The guides were fantastic, photos of male and female of each species, footprints, poo samples and heaps of information about each animal.

We were stunned when we were driving and Cameron said, "There's a Klipspringer". We hadn't seen one before, and he spotted it before Steven and Aaron. Steve asked "How did you know that Cameron, that's the first one we have seen?" He replied "I read it in your book"

We also saw:

Tree Squirrels

Kudu

Impala

Nyala

Giraffe

Daeka

White Rhino

and we found some Zebra. The zebra were a bit skitterish, but they made the most amazing noise. We had never heard a zebra before....they are all so quiet at the zoo!

Birdlife

Purple Crested Turaco

Southern Bobo

Red Bull Oxpecker

Blue Wax Bullbird

We enjoyed the mid morning breaks, when we found a peaceful spot and had a drink and something to eat. The kids enjoyed listening to Aaron tell stories about different insects, grasses and other stories,

and also climbing on the rocks...but not too far away.

Afternoon Drive.

Our last drive at Bongani, we leave for Exeter in the morning.

We saw

Rhino

Giraffe

Duiker

Lions in the Boma.

We hope that when the lions are let out of the boma that they stay around Bongani.

Steve said that the last lions they brought in from Kenya ran straight over to Kruger after they let them out of the boma, and never saw them again. That was an expensive purchase. There is a female lion at Bongani (although we never saw her), and the rangers have seen her at the Boma, so they are hoping once the brother are let out of the boma, they will form a pride with the female and stay around.

Birdlife

Brown Snake Eagle

Cape Glossy Starling

Blue Wax Bill

Turtledove

Woodpecker

African Hoopoe

African Cuckoo

Mouse Bird

Fiery Necked Nightjar

the kids loved sitting in the jeep while we drive around, love being off the tracks, and love it when Aaron has to get out of the truck to get us through the bush.

The boys wished they could sit in Aaron's seat while we trek around the bush.

They enjoyed sitting in the seat when we had a break though!

We have had such an amazing time at Bongani, and would recommend it to anyone wanting to do a safari type holiday!
Thank you to everyone there who made our trip so fantastic, especially Steve and Aaron!

Safari Day 4. Bongani Mountain Lodge

2010-10-11T03:58:00.098+02:00

Day 11, Monday, Bongani

Monday was a hot day – it was 42 degrees by 9am. We were out at 6am as usual, but most of the animals must have known that a really hot day was on the way and the sightings were fewer than normal. As we were preparing to stop for our morning coffee, we saw the elephants on the hill heading for the dam. We drove down to the wateringhole to have our morning coffee (with this weather, cool drinks as well). We rested in a hide and hoped that the elephants would make their way down. However, they were cautious, and waited for us to leave before coming down to drink. Luckily, the hide had a back-track and we parked up on the road and very quietly crept back down to the hide, (Steven with rifle in hand).
As we settled back in, 20 elephants made their way to the wateringhole. First a massive bull, and shortly thereafter the rest of the herd made their way down to swim, drink and wallow, including a crop of young elephants. Watching them drink, bathe, have dust baths and play was fantastic. It is amazing how quiet they can be, and how their low belly rumbles travel through the bush.

One of the funny things was watching the very young calves getting used to having a trunk. It seemed like they had little idea how to use it, and it just flopped around on the front of them, getting in the way.

One little fella had at least a bit of an idea, and he used his trunk as a snorkel as he swam in the waterhole! At one point, five youngsters stood next to each other. One of them leaned on his neighbours, and they all fell over like dominoes.

Whilst all of this bathing, drinking and dusting was going on, the matriarch stood watch. At one point, when Steve whispered some information about some of the behaviours we were watching. All of a sudden the elephants charged up the hill, before turning and staring at us. The bull walked back down to the waterhole, and we could feel him watching us. Slowly, the others came back down to the water, but the bull never took his eyes off us. Not a fellow I would like to cross!

After about 45 minutes, the elephants took their leave and strolled up the valley. Only then could we leave the hide safely, and head back to the truck and make our way back to the lodge for a very late breakfast. This sighting was a real highlight.

Other animals we saw on the morning drive.

Baboons

Nyala

Kudu

Giraffe

White Rhinos

Tree Squirrels

Impala

Buffalo

Leoparg Gecko

Giant Plated Lizard

Common Flat Lizard

Birdlife

Purple Creasted Turaco

Swallows

White Helmut Shrews

Fork Tail Drongo

Red Bull Oxpeckers

European Beeeater

Black-headed Eastern Oriole

Frankiln

Jameson's Fire Finch

Blue Wax Bulls

Honey Guard

We got back to the lodge, and Peter and his family had to depart back to Johannesburg. It was a real pleasure being here with them, and we were sure we were going to miss them. We had another few days here, before we were leaving for Exeter River Lodge, which is in the Sabi Sands region of the Kruger National Park.

It was quiet after Peter and his family left, and we settled back in to the viewing deck. It was incredibly hot (we were praying that Peter’s air conditioner would work – we later heard that about an hour into their journey, the air conditioner turned itself back on and worked the rest of the way home!). From the deck we could see the wateringhole – today the Rhino herd were in residence. They moved in, and simply lay in the waterhole all day. When other animals approached, the rhino charged them until they were left alone. They were a bit like us – sitting in the shade, by the pool, waiting for the heat to go out of the day.

Afternoon Drive.
We got ready for the afternoon game drive, and made our way to the main lodge. There was quite a commotion – the vervet monkeys had broken into the bar and were stealing sachets of sugar. When they swung into the broken kitchen window (broken by the baboons, who hate frosted glass because they cant see in, so they just break it) they scared the cooks, who ran out screaming!

They have this statue of a cheetah to help deter the monkeys from getting inside. Sometimes it works, other times they ignore it!

The boys thought this was hilarious. Shortly thereafter, a big baboon appeared to assert his territorial rights. The rangers explained that the baboons and the vervets don’t get on well, and from the deck we saw a group of vervets fight the baboon whilst the rest of the troupe made their escape. The boys were not so excited any more – it was a bit frightening (he was a very big baboon!)

We loaded up for the game drive and headed out. We had an excellent drive, and as we returned the skies were heavy and the lightning was ripping across the sky. There was no rain, but the skies and the lightning at the end of such a hot day suggested a big storm was on the way. As the ‘rainy season’ was supposed to start, we thought we were going to be in for a big storm that night.

We saw

Giraffe

This giraffe ran across the road in front of us. not a great photo, but was an incredible sight!

Nyala
Kudu
Impala
Klipspringer
Lions (in the Boma)
Rhino.
Cameron took this photo, even though it is not right in focus,
I love that the Rhino is just on the edge of the frame

Boam Slang Snake
Daeka
Scrub Hare
and that Chameleon again, (I am sure Aaron planted it there each night!)

Birdlife

White Faced Owl
Cape Turtle Dove
Red Bull Oxpeckers

We ate our dinner on the terrace, and right at the end of our meal the large raindrops started to fall. They drove us under cover, but only lasted for a few minutes. It was an impressive storm, but without any real relief.

We would see when we got to Exeter the effect that this storm had elsewhere in the Kruger National Park.

Safari Day 3. Bongani Mountain Lodge

2010-10-10T03:55:00.097+02:00

Up again, bright and early, those 6am wake up calls are unpleasant, but the reason for them is so worthwhile!

Lots of things to see this morning.

Mammals

Nyala (this one is a male)

Impala

Giraffe (look how adorable the baby one is)

Zebra Millipede

Common Flat Lizard (I don't think he is common at all)

We also saw (but a bit far for reasonable photos)

Kudu

Lions (in the boma)

Rhino

Giant Plated Lizard

The birdlife is amazing, and it's great to see the big animals, but also just as great to see the variety of birds as we travelled around. The kids became really great at bird spotting and identification, although they were tricky to photograph, so here is a list.

Birds:

Purple Crested Turaco

Goshawk

Sunbirds

Franklin

Hawk Tail Drongo

Blue Bill Wax Horn

White Bellied Sunbird

Wahlberg's Eagle

Kingfisher

Red Headed Weaver

Dazzle Blue Tail

After the Sunday morning drive, Nelson’s Chick Mobile was back in the garage, the students had packed up and moved on to Johannesburg to catch their flight, and the lodge was very quiet again.

It was a hot day, about mid-thirties, and we all moved to the viewing deck and pool. By pulling all of the large shade umbrellas into position, we could settle into the shade, have a swim, and enjoy a few drinks and lunch looking out over the valley. It was a really pleasant afternoon, and we saw giraffe and lots of buck in the valley below.

By late afternoon we had all drifted off for ‘nana-naps’ and were thinking about preparing for the evening game drive. Phil spotted some elephants, and called the others back. A massive herd appeared and moved down the valley to the watering hole. It was surprising how fast they covered the distance, even though they seemed to be only strolling. We watched them at play from up on the cliff and suspect they were oblivious to our presence. It was a lovely sighting. The surprising thing was how quickly they ‘melt’ back into the bush after they left the waterhole.

Evening game drive:

We had not seen any of the cats – except for the two lions acclimatising to their new surrounding in the boma. We headed on our drive to the other side of the park, in the hope of seeing Leopard. I’m sure lots of leopards saw us, but we didn’t see any of them! Our stop this evening was just spectacular. Watching Steven prepare his gun just in case (note we were in leopard territory), made Nicole feel somewhat anxious.

We climbed up onto a lock ledge and had a magnificent view over the valley, and had a few drinks, some snacks, and watched the sunset. It was glorious, peaceful and a real highlight.

Both Aaron and Steven were fantastic showing the kids (and adults)

interesting information about the bush.

What did we see tonight?

Baboons

Nyala

Impala

Giraffe

Other animals we saw, but a bit far to take photos were.
Kudu

Duiker (although how Aaron spotted these on the edge of a large rock in a distance amazes us)

Wildebeest

Bush Baby (Galago)

Community Spider Webs

White Tail Mongoose

Chamelion

Buffalo

Birdlife

Red Bull Oxpecker

Franklin
Fiery Neck Nightjar

After the game drive, we arrived back to find our dinner to be served outside in a boma (enclosure) under the stars. It was a delicious barbeque, and one other guest had arrived on her own (and had a ‘table for one’ set up on the other side of the boma). We asked her to join us, and had the fortune of meeting Marika, who would then be a part of our group for the rest of her time at Bongani.

Safari Day 2. Bongani Mountain Lodge

2010-10-09T09:25:00.099+02:00

Our wake-up call came through at 5.15am. We were dressed, drowned in Mosquito repellent and up to the main lodge for 5:45, where we had a lovely hot chocolate or cup of coffee and some biscuits before heading off on the morning game drive at 6am.
Mary decided to sleep in. Having had a house in the bush (and lots of amazing stories to go along with this), she was happy to ‘miss’ this early drive in favour of 3 hours more sleep.

As would occur each drive, we would cruise around and spot a great number of different species of animals, birds and plants.

6am drive

Animals we saw included.

White Rhino (a crash of Rhino's)

It takes 3-5 years for horn to grow. There has been a huge problem with poaching of the White Rhino. On the black market a Rhino Horn can sell for 145,000. There was a huge story in the media earlier this year where a large poaching ring involving rangers and professionals. Bongani have decided to dehorn their White Rhinos in the hope this will deter the poachers to kill the entire animal just for its horn. Here is an old news article that explains it a bit more.

Tree Squirrel (a dray of squirrels)

Nyala

Impala
Cameron took this photo...even though it's blurry,
I think it's a great shot. They are quick when they run!

Marula Tree - Nicole's new favourite tree.

It flavours Amarula liquer, traditional beer, jams and jellies.

The fruit ½ ripens on the tree, then falls off and finishes ripening on the ground.

Other animals we saw but were not close enough to get a photo were:

Baboons

Blue Wax Bills (birds)

Kingfishers (birds)
Battaliers (birds)

Kudu (photo in previous posting)

After the morning drive, we relaxed back at the lodge. We had a fantastic viewing deck just down from our room (a set of stairs led down to a deck and a pool, which sat on top of a great rock ledge which dropped about 200 metres to the valley below. This became one of our favourite places to rest up between drives. The boys loved the freezing pool, and from the deck we had a great view that allowed us to see animals as they moved around the valley. We often saw giraffe (they seemed to travel in threes), and over the days many other great animal sightings. The first day was a bit grey and cold, so the boys were in and out of the pool very quickly.

It's a fairly steep drop off from the pool decking, but allows for fantastic views.

A group of 3 giraffes was a regular sighting from the deck.

Cameron roamed around and put together a collection of sticks, leaves, pods and flowers from most of the species of plants and trees growing around the lodge.

Lunch was served in the main lodge – and then it was back to relaxing before the evening drive. During the afternoon the very quiet camp became loud and vibrant, as about 30 University students arrived to spend a night at the lodge. They had been doing a ‘leadership challenge’ at one of the local communities, where one of the game rangers lived. As a special reward for all their hard work (talking to them, they did heaps of great things including tree planting, working in the crèche and pre-school, and other projects around town). Nelson (one of the rangers) organised for them to spend the night in the lodge as a ‘reward’, and they had a great time.

Afternoon drive

On the afternoon drive, we were slowly making our way around with our ranger Steve and tracker, Aaron. As we broke into a clearing, we could see Nelson’s truck. It was very quickly referred to as ‘Nelson’s Chick Mobile’ – he was busy driving around, telling jokes to a truck full of young female uni students, seeing an animal every now and again. They were actually really fortunate, and we had some great sightings that evening. With the noise they were making, it was lucky the animals hadn’t cleared off long before they arrived – either that or they hadn’t heard Nelson’s jokes!

We saw our first elephants tonight...they were incredible.

(herd of elephants)

They are so quiet as they move. Elephants have 100,000 muscles in their trunk, the baby elephants have little control over their trunks when they are born, so cute to watch them. Once it was dark, we watched a herd of 14-15 elephants at a watering hole, it was amazing to watch.

A crash a rhinos

Cameleon. (how Aaron spotted this on the tree, in the dark while driving 30 kilometres an hour is beyond our comprehension, we thought perhaps it was a fake one that he had planted earlier!)

We also saw

Fork Tail Drongo (birds)

Crested Turaco (birds)

Giraffe

Bees

Spotted Eagle Owl

Fiery Neck Nightjar (birds)

Safari Day 1. Johannesburg to Bongani

2010-10-08T13:55:00.020+02:00

After breakfast, Phil caught the shuttle bus back to the airport to pick up the hire car. With the new roadworks near the airport, the navi had no hope in sorting it out. Phil had 4 goes of trying to get onto the right ramp – he was no more than 8 minutes away from the hotel at any time, however it took him 45 minutes to get back to the hotel.

Peter, Mary, Jenny and Patrick arrived in their car shortly after. We were driving in ‘convoy’ up to Bongani Mountain Lodge, a lodge in a private game reserve on the south western corner of the Kruger National Park. It was an easy journey, on two lane highways most of the way. Once we got past the massive roadworks that stretched for about 100 km out of Pretoria, we were able to sit on the speed limit and cruise. The weather was hot, and we were comfortable with the air conditioner on.
We stopped for a break at Milly's Roadhouse, which sits near the top of the escarpment. From Johannesburg, which sits at 1600m above sea level, it felt like we had progressively climbed as we drove the three hours to Milly's. We were planning to go into the restaurant, but Peter checked his watch and realised if we had any more than a quick stop, we would miss the afternoon game drive. We quickly went into the shop and grabbed sandwiches, drinks and snacks. Peter and everyone in his car also grabbed heaps of ice, because their air conditioner had broken down shortly after leaving Johannesburg.

The speed and urgency lifted a little, and we dropped down the escarpment and through lots of orange groves. We saw our first road sign warning of hippos, and we knew that we were definitely in the right place! The roads were now single lane, with a wide shoulder. The ‘protocol’ is to drive on the shoulder, and people overtake at will, regardless of what is coming the other way (they will get over, I suppose!). You then flash your hazards for two flashes to say thanks to the car that pulled onto the shoulder for you.

We turned off the highway and drove about 30 minutes up winding dirt tracks. Apart from a sign at the turn-off, there was no indication that we were on the right road. Finally we reached a gate in a very big, electric fence, with a guard. We signed in (which really means sign away your rights if we are eaten by a big animal). We parked the cars, and all of our luggage was transferred to jeeps, and we travelled another 30 minutes up tracks to the lodge. We crested the ridge and before us, built on the edge of the great rock cliff, was the lodge. Arriving at the lodge, in the bush, was really relaxing – it really felt that you were a million miles from anywhere.

We checked in at the main lodge, and our bags were taken down to our bungalows. The bungalows only have beds for 2, so we had adjoining rooms, which were just above the viewing deck.

On the lawns out the front of our rooms was a nice mixture of elephant, buffalo, buck and baboon poo – demonstrating that the lack of fences around the lodge allowed all the animals to pass amongst the bungalows as they pleased.

From the main lodge we saw some small buck on the lawns – we would later learn that they were Impala and Nyala. We also saw some baboons – a massive male nonchalantly sauntered down the path. Cameron was shocked by the size of this baboon – way bigger than him – and he decided that baboons were NOT his favourite animal. When he heard the story that baboons were only scared of male humans (not females or kids) Cameron decided to stick very close to Phil on any walk (Nicole, Mary and Jenny were not too keen on them either, expecially after Jenny told a story how she had been surrounded by baboons one time).
We settled in, and prepared for our first game drive (with gallons of mosquito repellent – for the malaria mosquitoes we never saw). We met at the lodge for a coffee and met our ranger – Steve, and our Tracker, Aaron.

We walked up to the trucks – large open four wheel drive jeeps with a seat right on the front for the tracker, and 3 bench seats set behind the driver, quite elevated for a better view.

The rules are simple – no matter what happens, don’t stand up or get out, unless instructed. Whilst the ‘profile’ of the jeep is maintained, animals will not trouble the vehicle. Standing up breaks the silhouette, and getting out separates you from the truck.

The other ‘rule’ was to watch out for overhanging branches – some of the thorns were up to five centimetres long, incredibly sharp and tough as nails.

The afternoon game drive – our first – was lovely. We learned very fast how experienced Peter, Mary, Jenny and Pat were at field spotting and identification. Their love of the bush and its animals and plants was infectious, and the boys rapidly became ‘junior experts’. Peter’s love of birds really rubbed off on Cameron.
We spotted lots of plants and animals, and the boys asked great questions. Very soon Steve and Aaron got the idea of what they were in for over the next 6 days – highly interested tourists looking at the bush as a whole, not just at the big animals. With Peter as an expert in the back, and Steve as the expert in the front, and Aaron able to spot tracks and animals with amazing speed, each game drive was a massive learning experience for all of us. Steve and Aaron were great with us, sharing lots of facts and our sense of humour. Peter brought enough pairs of binoculars for us all, so we were able to look at things closely and really had an amazing time on every game drive. If you ever go on a safari holiday...a pair of binoculars is essential!

Half way through each game drive, we would stop at sunset and have a drink and some snacks, our favourite biltong, before the evening part of the drive where the spotlights were turned on to sea the ‘creatures of the night’. The late afternoon was great to see daytime animals, and the spotlight let us see the nocturnal animals as they started their evening activities.

This break in the trip was great for the boys, who were able to duck behing a tree and relieve themselves after the bumpy tracks and off the beaten tracks. Not so lucky for us girls! Steve reassured us that every bush was a lavender bush, but Nicole didn't trust him on that one. After the first day, Nicole learnt not to have a drink before we set off. But our stop in the afternoon was where we were introduced to Amarula. YUM!! This was the perfect drink for break in the African bush! Nicole and Phil grew accustomed to this drink very quickly! :)

Just for our reference, I am adding the collective noun to each animal,

because we had fun tryingto remember them all.

The animals we saw on the first drive were:

Giraffe
(a tower of giraffes, but we much preferred to refer to them as a kalidescope of giraffes, it seemed more appropriate..thanks Jenny!)

Kudu
(herd of Kudu)

Nyala
(a cluster of Nyala)

Dwarf Mongoose
(a business of dwarf mongoose)

Impala
(a herd of Impala)

Scrub Hare

(a drove of Hares)

Dung Beetle

(an army of beetles, although a S**Tload of Dung Beetles seemed more appropriate)

Other animals that we saw (but the light or distance wasn't right for a photo)

Lions ( in the Boma) (pride)
Genet (peter's favourite) (gang?)
Francolin (bird)
Red Bill Oxpecker (bird)

Not ‘truly’ in the wild, but in a holding pen, about the size of a rugby field (called a ‘boma’) were two beautiful golden lions from Kenya. There was a lone female in the park, and these two were brought in to form a pride. The lone female, known as ‘Mufasi’ (simply means ‘female’) is apparently very big and very scary. We didn’t manage to see her on our visit, but we were always on the lookout... the lions in the boma were in quarantine for about 3 months, to get used to the surroundings before they were let out of the boma into the park. We visited the boma a few times just on dusk. The first afternoon game drive the lions were both near the fence. We were quite close, and they looked quite scary. In the split second that Aaron turned off the spotlight, and Steve turned on the headlights of the jeep. One of the lions let out an almighty roar which scared all of us, and made us all jump. Steve told us that was only a warning, not even a half of a roar....that was enough for Nicole to almost wet herself (remembering she had a couple of drinks before she had started the afternoon drive), she declared the baboons and lions were her least favourite animals! After hearing the small roar, Nicole was happy not to see Mufasi in the wild.

We also had a great view of the stars, and Peter, with his interest in astromony, gave us a jeep-side lesson. We saw Jupiter and its moons through our binoculars, and saw the Southern Cross and the Scorpio constellation. There was some light from the neighboring townships on the horizon, but this didn’t interfere with the brilliant star-show, including a beautiful shooting star.

After the drive, we arrived back to a lovely dinner and a bottle of wine, whereafter we were escorted from the main lodge to our bungalows(with no fences, any animals including lions and leopards could be strolling through the camp). We were not allowed to walk back to our bungalows without an experienced guard to take us, just in case.

With a 5am wakeup call booked, early nights were definitely on the menu.

Johannesburg, Soweto Tour, Nelson Mandela Square and new friends.

2010-10-07T09:33:00.002+02:00

We had booked tickets to do a Soweto tour, which was recommended by our friends Peter and Mary. I think before we started our trip across Johannesburg, Nicole was a bit ‘nervous’ because of all of the stories she had heard. Phil had been to Johannesburg many times before, and knew the difference between the ‘stories’ and reality, however, this was the first time that he had his family with him.

Nicole’s anxiety levels dropped as soon as we got into the the tour minivan. The tourguide and driver, Thulasizwe was a local who still lives in Soweto. He aspires to save up enough money to be able to buy a house in the affluent suburb of Soweto called, Diepkloof, and by a BMW. BMW stands for "Be My Wife". If you have a BMW, you can find a girl to marry easier!

Our first stop was at the Soccer City Stadium or FNB Stadium in Soweto, used for the 2010 World Cup. What a great stadium, and the colours really suited the environment. The design of the stadium is inspired by the shape of a fruit called the calabash (a type of gourd), which when hollowed out is a common African pot. The stadium can hold around 85,000 people.

Soweto's first foundations began around 1886, when African workers were brought into Johannesburg to work in the goldmines. The African workers were housed here. In 1904 African and Indian people were removed from the city of Johannesburg to live in townships southwest of Johannesburg.

The current population of Soweto is approx 1.3 million people. There are 11 official languages spoken in Soweto, the most spoken are Zulu, Sotho, Tswana, Venda, and Tsonga.

The problems that Soweto face are poor housing, overcrowding, high unemployment. Shacks made of corrugated iron sheets, and anything else that can be found can be seen for miles. In some of the poorest areas there is a central tap that bring their buckets to fill, and port-a-loos are lined up in rows which are emptied 2-3 times a week.

Soweto has a huge amount of history attached to it in regards to the apartheid. Vilakazi Street, in Orlando West in Soweto is the most famous street in South Africa. It is the only street in the world to have housed two Nobel Prize winners – former President Nelson Mandela, 1993 and Archbishop Desmond Mpilo Tutu, 1984.

Desmond Mpilo Tutu's home

Nelson Mandela's home is now a museum.

Winnie Mandela's home.

The South African Government has developed a Housing Policy to try and assist the growing population with this policy. It's a huge undertaking but we really hope it works.

Not a great photo, but you can click on it to enlarge to see the new housing that is being constructed in Soweto.

It's very basic, but it would be better to live in one of these, than having a family living in these.(These home are the original homes of the African workers bought in to work in the goldmines in 1885, and are still being used by families)

These are the homes in Kliptown, the poorest district in Soweto, made from corrugated iron and whatever else can be found.

We visited Kliptown and the Freedom Charter Monument.

On 26 June 1955, over 3 000 representatives of resistance groups met at Kliptown to draw up the Freedom Charter. The Freedom Charter was an alternative alternative vision to the policies of the then current rules of apartheid.

The full text of the Freedom Charter can be found at this link. A really interesting insightful read!

June 16th 1976, is now known as the Soweto Uprising. Students led protests to oppose the introduction of Affrikaans as the main langauge to be taught in schools. They left their school and intended to walk to Orland Stadium. It is estimated over 20,000 students took part in the protests. The police had closed off one of the main roads that the students intended to walk down, so they changed their route. A shot was fired from a policeman, and then panic surged through the crowd. Hector Pieterson was the first student to be shot. He was 13 years old. It is estimated that over 500 people were killed in the week following. We spent some time in the Hector Pieterson Museum and Memorial A moving and heartbreaking museum which explained the Soweto Uprising.

Outside was a memorial to Hector, and Thulasizwe pointed out Hector's sister who was standing close by.

We visited the Regina Mundi Catholic Church, Soweto's largest Catholic Church. It played a significant part in the Soweto Uprising on June 16th 1976,where students took shelter in the church. The police burst into the church after throwing teargas through the windows and fired bullets. No-one was killed, but the church still shows the marks of the incident with bullet holes in the ceiling, windows, the marble altar and the statue of Jesus Christ.
It is a very simple church, but so overwhelming to hear the stories of hardship and sacrifice that the people of Soweto have gone through in their struggle for equal rights.

Our tour of Soweto was amazing. It was a huge eyeopener to see how some people are still living. It's a must visit to Johannesburg for anyone!!!

Following the tour, we asked to be dropped back at Sandton, at Nelson Mandela Square. This is a very upmarket suburb in Johannesburg, and the Square is a massive shopping mall. Standing in the square is an enormous bronze of Nelson Mandela.

Following a quick cafe lunch, we called Mary and arranged to meet her by the statue. In the mean time, Nicole booked in for an emergency manicure/pedicure (after smashing her toe against the end of the bed, she felt a bit frivilous after what she had seen during the day) whilst Phil and the boys ‘windowshopped’ in the bookstore and the Apple shop.
Mary was right on time and we had a nice cup of coffee before heading back to their lovely B&B, St Andrews Gardens. After a look at the great set-up they have established there, we sat outside and enjoyed the evening with a beer and a glass of wine. The boys met Kahiso, who was the son of the housekeeper. They all had a great time playing pool.

Peter and Mary’s daughter, Jenny, dropped in to say hi with her boyfriend Patrick. Phil had met them both about a year ago, when we all travelled up to Stellenbosch and Jenny and Pat were working at Ernie Els winery whilst they were studying. They had some business meetings that evening, and unfortunately couldn’t join us for dinner.

Nicholas, Peter and Mary’s son, also popped in to visit. He bought with him his pet bearded dragon, named Icarus.

For Nicole, it was love at first sight! Icarus was very cute, and the kids set off into the garden with Nicholas to find worms or moths for him to eat. He enjoyed his special treats, and the boys were fascinated watching him eat.

It was then time for us to eat, so we went to the Butcher Shop, a wonderful restaurant back at the Square. After we were seated, Peter arrived after a busy day at work. We had a lovely meal together, catching up and then Peter dropped us back at our hotel. It was a lovely, busy day, and the family had the opportunity to see the full spread of Johannesburg, from the top suburb of Sandton, to the shanties of Soweto. A fantastic day all round, and a huge eyeopener, one that we will never forget!

Day 6. Cape Town

2010-10-06T08:21:00.001+02:00

Our last day in Capetown dawned fine and warm. After spending time getting our bags packed, we headed back to our favourite breakfast cafe (the boys ‘persistent request’..), Buzz. The boys loved the smoothies they have on the menu – who could go past ‘Milo Monkey’ or ‘Mango Mojo’ – the boys selections. Breakfast was a treat....delicious bacon and eggs, and omlettes, french toast...all sorts of yummy things!
Following breakfast, we headed down to the Two Oceans Aquarium. The aquarium was brilliantly laid out and the underlying conservation messages were presented in a really clear and responsible way.

The boys loved the microscope station – they were able to have a look at a whole lot of different seas creatures like corals, anemones, crabs and plankton. The staff members running the station really engaged the kids and they had a great time.

We saw the feeding of the penguins, which live inside and spend the day outside. The keeper leads them down each morning and leads them back up at night. We saw the Jackass Penguins that we had seen at Betty’s Bay, as well as some penguins from Antarctica.

We were fortunate to be there during the twice weekly feeding of the big fish tank. As the diver hand-fed all the fish, another staff member provided interesting and informative commentary.

The conservation messages encouraged us to consider what fish we were being served or buying, and that SASSI
have a green/yellow/red traffic light system relating to how endangered the fish are. The boys picked up small reference cards – great for them to get the message, but from then on Cameron would ask “What is the fish of the day” in every restaurant – even when he had no intention of ordering fish, and he would check his card. He waould also check the menu to make sure there were no red fish on the menu! All the food for the fish is supplied from the local I&J factory and processing plant.

We loved these 2 small frogs snuggled up in this flower

We moved onto the shark tank – Cameron noticed that all the sharks were female. He found the commentator from the fish feeding session and asked him about it. The staff member was a bit shocked that a 10 year old had sexed his shark population, then told him that they had problems with some of the males, so they now only have females. (Barcelona Aquarium is responsible for Cameron's knowledge of shark genetalia)

We had lunch in the cafe, Fish and Chips, of course! We can tell you that the fish they sell in the Fish and Chips is on the Green list, checked by Cameron) and then headed back up to the apartment, to check out of the apartment, and get our transfer to the airport for our Johannesburg flight.

When we arrived in Johannesburg, we transferred to our hotel near the airport and settled in for the evening.

Cape Town. Day 5. Stellenbosch/Franschhoek.

2010-10-05T03:23:00.139+02:00

Early the next morning we were again collected in a mini-van, this time by Pieter, to head up into the world-famous wine districts around Stellenbosch. Compared to the previous day, the weather was warm, sunny and still – a perfect day for getting out into the countryside (also great weather for looking at whales and penguins, but you can’t have it all!)
Our first stop was a Spier winery – and not for the wines. Spiers has a renowned collection of birds of prey at Eagle Encounters, as well as the Cheetah Outreach. 2 amazing programs that are doing their best to look after the wildlife.

We first went into Eagle Encounters and were the only people there. The boys loved the birds, and got to pet a couple of very friendly barn owls. The centre tries to rehabilitate injured and mistreated birds.

When they are rehabilitating the Peregrine Falcons they often use masks to cover their eyes so they do not get stressed.

The barn owls were so soft, and the boys bothe freaked out at how they can turn their heads 180 degrees.

Could you ever imagine getting a baby owl, rolling it in packing tape and using it as a football??

We saw this little fellow on the road to recovery.

Barn Owl

Tawny Eagle

Black Eagle

Tawny Eagle, ready to rip the flesh from your fingers!

The eagles, falcons and hawks were beautiful - Cameron’s favourite was the Peregrine Falcon, the world’s fastest animal which can dive nearly 300 kms per hour.

We then went on the tour through the Cheetah Outreach facility to see the cheetahs. They were all in large enclosures, and it was not all that easy to get a good look at all of them – until a young boy about 5 years of age wandered off between the enclosures and aroused the natural instincts of the cheetahs! They were all up, at the fencelines and very interested in this small moving potential snack! Needless to say, the volunteers were quick to ask his parents to keep Junior a fraction closer to them, and not the cheetahs.

Cheetahs are extremely elegant, but are incredibly ‘brittle’. If they get injured, they cannot run and therefore can’t hunt. They are extremely risk averse in the wild, and will be scared off a kill very quickly by other predators to ensure they avoid injury.

They have been known to bring down a small kill to distract their ‘followers’, before killing for themselves. They hunt by tripping using their dew claws (the smaller claws you may have seen further up the ‘wrist’ of your typical tabby) and then crushing the wind-pipe. They are very selective, and don’t bring down animals much bigger than themselves.

Therefore, sheep are highly attractive (slow, easily scared and a bit dopey) for Cheetah, and farmers are known to trap. Shoot and poison the Cheetahs near their farms. This only encourages other predators to move in, which is not helpful to anyone.
A wonderful ‘symbiotic’ solution has been found –a breed of dog called the Turkish Anatolian shepherd bonds with the sheep herd, and will bark loudly and scare away predatory cats. They are not likely to follow and attack the cats, but will defend the sheep vigorously. The Cheetah program has started breeding and supplying these dogs to farmers (with the first years expenses fully paid) and the results are astounding – flock losses on some farms have dropped from over 30% to under 2%, and most are without a single loss for the entire year. They are massive dogs, and the program seems to be a success – the cheetahs are not killed, and the farmers don’t lose their stock. A win-win foreveryone. We didn't get a good photo of the dog, but please follow the above link to see a picture of the Turkish Anotolian shepherd and read more about the great work the Cheetah Outreach program are doing.
We found out that there were a number of cubs at an off-site facility. For an ‘appropriate’ donation to the program, it was possible to go and visit them. We couldn’t resist such an opportunity, and we booked in for the afternoon. This massively changed our plans for the day, as it meant we had to stay in the Stellenbosch area and not travel up to Franscheok, where Phil had planned to take Nicole and the boys to the fabulous Ruebens Restaurant. We thought a hand-on visit to the cheetah cubs was well worth the change of plans.
After Spiers, it was on to the wine tasting! The first ‘farm’ (they are called wine farms here, and not wineries!) that we visited was Middelvlei Wine Estate. Excellent wines for Nicole and Phil, and a petting zoo for the kids (as well as the farm dogs, who were very friendly. Alexander and Cameron were wondering what these turtles were up to????

They especially liked seeing the Wallaby (he was quick), and a few rugby jokes (about Wallabies bashing up Springboks) were shared with the locals, much to Phil and Nicole’s amusement!

We then travelled into the town of Stellenbosch and had a look around, including in the oldest shop in the town, Oom Samie se Winkel (Uncle Sam's shop). It has the most ecclectic things you could imagine. Nicole would have bought quite a few things, if she knew they would not be confiscated at customs on the way into Australia, she was most disappointed to leave with nothing!

Pieter was from the area, and his local knowledge of the town made it an interesting tour.

Next stop was the wine farm Muratie Wine Estate, which had a lovely cellar with 30 year old cob-webs just to add to the ambience! There is a lot of history about the founding family, including how the wine estate owner, Laurens Campher fell in love with a slave girl, Ansela van de Caab. Laurens would walk 40 kms each way to see her on her day off – taking a couple of days each way to get there! Still as a slave girl they had 3 children together, Cornelius, Jacoba and Agenetjie. Ansela was emancipated in 1699 and Laurens brought her and the children back to Muratie where they were married. They made the farm a success and she ran it after Laurens died.

We had soup and a meat and cheese platter in the courtyard for lunch, with an excellent glass of their wine. As we were finishing one of the workers offered to take the boys on a bit of a walk down to see the farms’ ostrich and donkey. We finished off the last of the lunch and picked the boys up on our way out. They had a great time.

The theme continued – more animals than wine – but I suppose when you go wine tasting with kids, that this is bound to happen, not that we minded!

Our next stop was the cheetah cubs – there were nine cubs in a compound set on a farm away from Spiers winery. We disinfected our hands and shoes, and were instructed on the process for meeting the cubs – we would enter their compound, and would sit on some cushions set on the grass in one of the corners. The cubs could freely approach us as they liked. We also had the main handler, 2 volunteers (who were so in love with these cubs that I couldn’t imagine the tears when their 4 and 8 week stints came to an end!) and Dave from Steve Irwin’s Australia Zoo (who was here to monitor two of the cubs, Michael and Lewis. In November, Michael and Lewis will be shipped to Australia) on hand, who were happy to answer all of our questions.

It didn’t take long for a few of the cubs to come ambling over. The main one was Michael (heading to Australia with his brother Lewis) – who is known as being very gregarious and sometimes a bit cheeky. Cameron ended up being nibbled by Michael, and for the rest of the trip was happy to point out where he had been licked, scratched and bitten by a cheetah. Michael also spend a bit of time chewing on Phil's shoe laces.

Several of the other cheetahs came over for a scratch, but the rest just kept doing what they were doing (playing, wrestling, watching the gardener outside the enclosure with interest, tracking the Turkish Anatolian shepherd puppies from thebreeding program with serious interest...)

They were captivating and gorgeous. We spent about ¾ of an hour with the cubs, and I think it was a highlight for all of us.
We washed our hands and said our (sad) goodbyes, and headed up the road for an icecream at the local Mooiberge Strawberry Farm. This place is a local landmark, and Pieter recalled happy times of stopping here in his childhood. It has a serious collection of scarecrows (if you can call them that) which really brighten up the farm.
After our icecream we headed to our last Vineyard for the day, the Hidden Valley Vineyard. Again, Pieter had made an excellent choice and we enjoyed the selection, sitting on the terrace in the sunshine.

Even the local lizard enjoys the view!

Some of the local wines

A perfect place to do some wine tasting after a long day of touring!

View from the balcony

We then cruised for home, driving back in to Capetown and to our apartment. It was a fun day out, with Pieter really getting into the spirit of our trip. We laughed most of the way, with lots of fun stories and jokes shared by all. It was a great day out, and the two tours were a great way to see a little more around Capetown.

Cape Town. Day 4. Hermanus and Betty's Bay

2010-10-04T02:37:00.040+02:00

An early start and a quick breakfast in the apartment before being picked up for the first tour of Cape Town with Tish, from Chanti Tours and Charters. We were picked up in a minibus, and we headed down to Hermanus – where the whales come in during October to calve. We drove past the Helderberg and Skapenberg Mountain Range through the farmlands, and even saw a troupe of Chacma baboons along the highway. We were advised not to stop near any babboons, they can do a lot of damage to a car, and they have enormous teeth. Unfortunately due to the spread of urban areas, they are losing their habitat and are finding easy ways to find food....through people's windows, doors and cars. See Baboon Matters for the Baboon side of the story.

The weather was cold, wet and very windy, but wasn't going to stop us having a great day!

We reached Hermanus, and straight away we could see whales in the bay. In fact, there were a few only about 30 metres off the cliffs. We sat and watched them for a while before moving along the cliff-top path for a better view of the whales further out. At the point where the water deepens, about 30 whales were frolicking. There were lot of whales doing fin and tail slaps, and the boys were really excited as several of them breached and crashed back into the water.

It was tricky to get photos of them, as they jumped up so suddenly, and then were back into the water again before the camera could focus, so we got a lot of photos of the splash afterwards. In the end we decided to put the camera away, and just enjoy watching them.

The Whales were the Southern Right Whale.

We saw some Dassie's along the shoreline.

We were getting really cold with the strong breeze, so we grabbed some take-away hot chocolates and got back into the minivan to head to Betty’s Beach, where there is an African Penguin colony. These penguins used to be called Jackass Penguins, because their call is similar to a donkey braying. A boardwalk has been built along the coastline so it is possible to see penguins on the rocks by the water, and also in their burrows/nests in the hill. These penguins are nearly extinct because of hunting, environmental damage, and also because their poo (technical term, guano) was scraped off the rocks and used for fertiliser. This caused the penguins real problems, because they form their nests by burrowing into the guano deposits.

One thing about penguins – they stink! We stayed and enjoyed the antics of the penguins until we were driven back to the minibus by the cold and the spray. We drove along the coastal road of False Bay and stopped for a leg stretch on the beach at Mnandi Beach. The boys enjoyed the opportunity to run and play for a while.

We put them in their bathers and told them not to go in past their ankles (just a paddle!) Even reminding them that this was the home of the Great White Shark, they came back to the van drenched! Lucky we had towels. Alexander’s t-shirt was soaked through, so he had to spend the rest of the day just in his fleece.
We continued onto Kalk Bay, where we had lunch at the Harbour House. A lovely restaurant and we were able to watch the seals swimming in the surf through the windows. As we left, some locals were feeding squid to some seals in the harbour –

One of the seals was massive – probably the biggest seal I have ever seen. He obviously has this ‘squid for the tourists’ thing down pat!

A quick walk around the harbour to see some of the boats, and below is a South African Snoek Fish drying out.

We finished our day driving back to the apartment for a grand total of 312kms. We had a fantastic day with Tish, who provided lots of interesting information, and hope she enjoyed our company as much as we enjoyed spending the day with her.

Cape Town. Day 3. Table Mountain.

2010-10-03T01:43:00.000+02:00

Sunday morning dawned clear and sunny – the perfect weather to head up to the top of Table Mountain. The locals told us not to plan a specific day to go up via the cable car but instead ‘if you wake up and it is clear, go for it!’. We booked a taxi and went to our favourite breakfast cafe – Buzz Cafe, just down the hill from our apartment. The Cafe has a fun vibe and a ‘monkey’ theme, which we all enjoyed. We had a leisurely, delicious breakfast and then our taxi arrived to take us to the base station of Table Mountain.

Table Mountain sits at the back of Cape Town City and the Waterfront – it creates a bowl at its feet in which the city was built. The city has passed laws limiting how far up the mountain development can occur, and a clear ‘line’ of development can be seen – Except for three ugly towers which are built right on the development line, but are over 10 storeys tall. Everything above this line is National Park.

To get to the top of Table Mountain, it is possible to hike (quite arduous, apparently!) or, as we did, go to the cable car station and catch the cars to the top. After lots of experience in gondolas on the ski slopes of Europe, we were surprised by how steep the trip was. The gondola freely rotates as you travel up so you get fantastic views.

The Lion's Head mountain, a part of the Table Mountain National Park.

At the top, it is surprising how flat the top of the mountain is. There are simple walking tracks giving you views to Cape Town, to the beaches to the West of Cape Town and down towards Cape Point). Phil doesn’t mind heights, but he is not so happy with unprotected edges!

The views were fantastic, and we were fortunate to see many Dassies, which are Rock Hyraxes (the closest relative to the elephant!) They were relaxing on the rocks, eating plants and (to Cameron’s amusement) pooing regularly.

We had a lovely walk along some of the tracks, and then retired to the cafe for a coffee.

A long way from both homes!

Whilst we were sitting there, the other thing that makes Table Mountain famous occurred – the ‘tablecloth’ rolled in. The tablecloth is fog/cloud that forms when the moist air off the ocean is forced up the side of table mountain, and as it reaches the top it rapidly cools and condenses to become cloud. It blows across the top and seems to flow over the other side. Whilst we were in the cafe, we were reduced to a total white-out. It was a good thing that we had already done our sightseeing. We had to wait a little while until the cable car opened again before we could head back down the mountain.

We made our way down in the cable-car again, very quickly dropping below the tablecloth and back into lovely sunshine. We reached the bottom station and decided to walk back down into town, to our apartment. It was all downhill, and it was a nice few kilometres in the sunshine. We arrived back at the apartment, had our lunch, and took the kids to the pool.
The pool was colder than it looked, and the boys were in and out very quickly. However, they were happy to play by the pool (with rocks, stones and whatever else they could find). Nicole and Phil kicked back with some coffee and a great selection of South African books from Derwent House.

We again had dinner at DaVinci’s. After our first visit, Phil decided to have something a bit smaller – a steak was a good choice! The boys enjoyed drawing on the tablecloths (butcher paper) and Cameron drew a picture of a Shark ‘beating up’ a seal pup. A very funny picture, which he asked that the restaurant stick up at the counter with their other customer drawings – which they did!

Cape Town. Day 2. Helicopter Ride over the Cape of Good Hope.

2010-10-02T06:07:00.031+02:00

The boys and Phil had decided that they would love to try a helicopter ride – and whilst we were at the Waterfront we would check out the prices for the following day. Whilst we were negotiating at Sport Helicopters, they suggested a ‘sunset flight’ that very evening. There was a bit of breeze, but it was a lovely evening and we decided to go for it and have an hour flight down to Cape Point and back that evening.

It was an exhilarating experience – and the views were spectacular. We hugged the coast all the way down to Cape Point (The Cape of Good Hope), and back up via False Bay.

The V & A Waterfront.

Table Mountain with a drifting layer of cloud over the top

The Green Point Stadium (used for the FIFA World Cup 2010)

The Cape of Good Hope

Cape Point right at the tip with the lighthouse on the edge

False Bay

A gorgeous sunset as we flew back towards Cape Town.

The boys and Nicole were not so keen on the hard banking figure of 8 turns that our pilot used to give us a better look at Cape Point, and Cameron had to make use of the air-sick bag due to the wind and turbulence not far from final landing (I think this convinced our pilot to speed up his return to base...). However, it was really worth it, both for us to have a first helicopter ride and to see the magnificent scenery.

After settling our tummies with a rest back at the apartment, we went out to a recommended local Italian restaurant called Da Vinci’s on Kloof. Delicious and fun – although the big spare ribs stopped Phil (he was heard to grumble that he thought he ate a whole pig!)

Cape Town. Day 2. Robben Island Tour.

2010-10-02T03:38:00.000+02:00

As advised by many people, we booked our tour to Robben Island well in advance. We are lucky that we did – the boat that they normally use was broken, and they had to call in other, smaller boats to ferry groups to the Island. We were delayed about 45 minutes, and the boat trip took an extra half an hour each way.

We had an interesting lesson in the difference in ‘personal space’ on the way out to Robben Island. We grabbed a nice spot on the rear deck with a table and a bench seat either side. We sat the 4 of us there for the start of our trip. Within about 15 minutes, after Cameron had gotten up to go exploring, a family descended and squeezed onto the table with us. Every time you gave an inch to create a bit of personal space, the family slid along and filled it and another member joined the table! In the end we had us, plus 5 extras on the benches and the table! Nicole took it all with good grace and ended up having a chat to the lady she was literally rubbing shoulders with (in fact, she had her arm around Nicole most of the journey!)

View from the boat towards Cape Town, on the botton left hand corner is the Green Point Stadium used for the FIFA World Cup 2010.

Robben Island is 11 kilmetres from Cape Town. Robben Island was first used in the 1650's by the Dutch and throughout it's history it has mainly been used as a prison. See this link for the chronological order of what Robben Island has been used for...interesting reading!

We were met by a bus when we arrived at Robben Island and were taken on a tour to see the main sites of the Island before visiting the Maximum Security Prison.

Before getting on the tour bus.

Between 1846-1931, Robben Island was used as a hospital for mental patients, chronically ill and lepers.

The Limestone Quarries.

Prisoners were sent to the limestone quarries to remove the limestone (by hand). Many prisoners who were exposed to limedust had severe health problems. Nelson Mandela's tear ducts were damaged after years of limedust exposure.

It was 11 kilometres from Robben Island to the coast of Cape Town. The stretch of water was icy cold, often large waves, and rumour was it was full of sharks. Very few prisoners attempted to escape.

The yellow house where Robert Sobukwe spent over 6 years in solitary confinement.

The building behind housed the guard dogs. 1 kennel for each dog, the dog's kennels were larger than the prisoner's cells in the maximum security prison.

One of the guard towers.

The Maximum Security was fenced with 2 rows of barbed wire fences, with guard dogs in the middle section.

We left the bus and met one of the former political prisoners, who took us through the prison.

We first visited Section F, which usually housed 50-60 prisoners. These prisoners were "common criminals". Bunk beds were introduced in the late 1970's, until then, everyone slept on the floor on mats. The lights were on 24 hours a day, and no glass in the windows. Prisoners were constantly covered in lice and other creepy crawlies throughout the night.

We were shown the average diet offered to the prisoners, with ‘coloureds’ getting more rations than blacks, and no fruit or vegetables for anyone.

We moved through other cells and yards and eventually saw the high level maximum security section, Section B, which housed the political prisoners. The cells in Section B consisted of solitary confinement cells for the political leaders and prisoner. The most popular of these, of course, was cell 7, which housed Prisoner 466/64, Nelson Mandela. Interestingly, each of these cells was smaller than the pens used for each of the guard dogs used at the prison. It was here that Nelson Mandela spent the majority of his incarceration, (18 years of his 27 years of imprisonment) before being moved to the mainland for the last few years of his sentence at Pollsmoor Prison.

It was an interesting experience to see the harsh setting, to hear the first hand stories, and to imagine the effects that it would have on those held here. It is also impressive to reflect on the courage and determination of those held here to continue their struggle for what they believed in.

One of the guys on our tour asked our tour guide how he felt about working here at the musuem, and reliving this part of his life every day. He said that if someone would offer him another job he would take it, but he has no formal education and no skills that could be used.

The visit was not long enough, and we wanted to learn more. Nicole bought a book called Robben Island, by Charlene Smith to read later on.

We travelled back (by slow boat) and arrived back at the V&A Waterfront late in the afternoon.

At the Waterfront, we saw some seals who were sunbathing.

This area has a gate open where seals can jump up and sunbath, protected from the boats in the harbour.

Cape Town. Day 1.

2010-10-01T02:26:00.000+02:00

After packing up the apartment and living in a hotel for more than a week, saying final goodbyes to our friends and the city of Berlin, which we love, it was time for the next adventure. On our way back to Australia we decided to visit South Africa and Mauritius, and really make it a ‘special’ home journey.

After travelling over Istanbul with Turkish Airlines, we arrived in Cape Town at about noon. For Phil, this was about his 7th visit to South Africa, but for Nicole and the boys it was their first time. Having heard lots of ‘stories’, Nicole had some trepidations, and as usual, the boys took it all in their stride.

We were picked up at the airport and delivered to our guesthouse – Derwent House, which sits about half way between the Harbour and the base of Table Mountain. It was a lovely guest, and we were shown to our apartment which would be home for the next 5 days.

After a short break to settle in and unpack, we walked down the hill to catch the Red Line‘City Circle’ bus tour. This is a hop-on hop-off open top double decker bus that shows the major tourist attractions around the city. We each had a set of headphones and the boys tuned into the kids channel and Nicole and Phil chose the normal English one. Later the kids had some great facts that we didn’t get from the adult channel - Perhaps you need to go around twice, once as an adult and once as a kid, to get the full story!

We like doing these hop-on, hop-off bus tours when we first get to a new city. It's a great way to get a bit of an idea of the layout of the city, get a bit of a rough history lesson and highlight the things you really want to visit more in depth.

The Castle of Good Hope, built 1666-1679, the oldest surviving coloniel building in Cape Town.

Table Mountain. visible almost everywhere in Cape Town.

Up near the base of Table Mountain, overlooking the Victoria and Alfred Waterfront (known as the V & A Waterfront)

Part of the sprawl of Cape Town, Nicole was surprised how large it actually is.

The view of Clifton, a more exclusive side of Cape Town.

Our last stop of the tour was at the V & A Waterfront, so we walked around the harbour and looked for somewhere for dinner. We looked for something familiar and ended up at a German Brauhaus of all places! No sentiment in this decision, but at least we knew what we would be served!
We caught the last of the red buses back to the centre of town, Queen Victoria Street and walked up to Derwent House for the night. As South Africa is in the same time zone as Berlin, we were not fighting jet lag!

Bye Bye Berlin

2010-09-30T07:00:00.035+02:00

We packed up all our bags and left them at the hotel, and spent the day walking around the town.

Our flight didn’t leave until 5pm.

Pure coincidence, the hotel we stayed at Adina Apartments, is an Australian chain of hotels, and had a Berlin Bear painted Aboriginal style.

Last photos near the Reichstag

We couldn’t leave without seeing a few Trabis!

A last photo of us at the Brandenburg Gate.

Our very last photo taken in Berlin

We headed back to the hotel, picked up our bags, took a taxi to the airport and checked in. Alexander was really upset about leaving, and we all had a tear in our eye as we left the airport.

Thanks Berlin, we have had a great time, learnt a lot, travelled a lot, met some wonderful people and created lots of fantastic memories!

Wir haben viel Spass gehabt!

Tschuss!!

Bis Später!!

Wir lieben Berlin!!

Last few days in Berlin

2010-09-30T01:04:00.050+02:00

While Nicole was at her last knitting group meet up, Phil took the boys for a walk around the Brandenburg Gate

A walk through the Tiergarten.

Our last Preussenallee Festival. The kids love these Hamster Balls.

Felix came over after school one afternoon to have a swim in the pool, dinner, and say goodbye.

We booked a walking tour with Original Berlin Walks, and decided to do the Berlin, Nest of Spies Tour.

It was a great tour, and we enjoyed the information that was shared with us.

It rained in the last hour, and we had not brought our raincoats or umbrellas, so we got quite wet. It didn’t really matter though.

One of the things Alexander really wanted to do was to go to the Fassbender & Rausch Chocolate Shop at Gendarmenmarkt, so he could order the chocolate mouse with gold leaf on the top layer. Alexander wanted to eat gold!

Phil and the kids ordered one each along with their hot chocolates, and thoroughly enjoyed them (Nicole just had a taste of each one, to be fair)

Letzte Strickttreffung....fur jetzt

2010-09-25T11:59:00.002+02:00

It was with great sadness that I attended my last Berlin Knit meet up on a Friday.

I will miss you all, and hope that we will be able to meet up again in the near future, whether that is in Berlin, or hopefully you will come and visit me in Melbourne, Australia.

My wonderful friends surprised me with an adorable present, a game of memory, so I won't forget them, and our fun Friday's together! There are 2 of each card! You all made me teary! I love them and look at them often!

I miss you all already!

xxx

Breakfast at the Reichstag

2010-09-25T07:48:00.048+02:00

The kids had never been to the Reichstag, and always wanted to go up to the top and walk around the dome. With only a few days left in Berlin we thought we should add this to our “To Do List” The easiest way to do this (without waiting in a queue for hours), is to book into Kaifer’s and have breakfast or lunch there. We decided to have breakfast there, as the apartment we are staying at is walking distance from the Reichstag.

Phil and Nicole has a champagne breakfast ,and the kids had a “Kinder breakfast”

Breakfast was delicious, and the view was great. One thing to recommend, is do not dress too warmly. The sun beats through the windows there, and it does get really hot. Even on a cool day, the room warms up, and it is inevitable a group of elderly people will complain about the door being open causing a breeze!

After breakfast we walked up the ramp to the top of the dome. It is a great view of Berlin from here, and it was a good way to say “Goodbye to Berlin”. When we first arrived in Berlin, one of the first things we did was go to the top of the Fernsehnturm to see all of Berlin from a height to try and get our bearings. Dare I tell you Nicole felt a bit teary about leaving Berlin as she gazed out over the Tiergarten!

The mirrors in the centre of the dome always creates some interesting angles for photos.

German Flag

Top of the Dome

This photo of the 4 of us in tripicate is one of Nicole’s favourites!

Uplift continues....

2010-09-21T06:58:00.000+02:00

The packers arrived at 8am, and continued to box everything up. Phil met them at 8am, Nicole and the kids went for a swim in the pool after breakfast. Nicole and the kids arrived before lunchtime to start helping. (It’s not the most fun the kids have had, but everyone else was at school...so a little bit tricky). They kept themselves occupied by taking photos of the workers, video of them working, and playing with marbles down the stairwell, keeping out the way as much as possible.

After lunch the first container arrived.

When we moved into this apartment almost 6 years ago, our dining room table and entertanment unit were too large for the stairwell (because of the tight turns). We had to hire a furniture crane and lift them up to the terrace and through the terrace doors. When Nicole had the 2 companies quoting on the removalist, she made sure that this was explained, and that the hire of the furniture crane was included.

It was quick to install,(much to the shock of one of our neighbours who was very concerned that it would damage the grass. What is it with people being so precious about grass???) The boys loved watching the crane come together.

The crane was fantastic. The guys could put lots of boxes on the platform and send it to ground level, pop them on a trolley and wheel it to the container. It was so quick, and the guys were glad not to be carrying boxes down 3 flights of stairs all day long (especially all the book boxes).

The container was full, and then locked up and started the drive to Hamburg to meet the ship that will take it to Australia.

As rooms were cleared, we continued to wipe down skirting boards, clean windows and vacuum, so there was little to do once the last few boxes were removed.

The boxes were cleared, rubbish in the bin, left over boxes and bubble wrap packed up and our apartment was empty. It echoed! It felt strange to see it so empty. Nicole remembers sitting in the empty apartment when we first arrived waiting for the telephone company to come in and install phones and internet access. Memories of measuring up for curtains, light fixtures, toilet roll holders, etc with her IKEA catalogue in hand. Then remembering the day all our furniture arrived from Australia to be unpacked in the apartment (on Alexander’s birthday), and the previous evening having 30cm+ of snow fall out of the sky.
We handed our keys to Sabine, our relocation agent to look after everything else for us, and shut the door. The end of a chapter.

Another Pumpkinfest...how could you refuse!

2010-09-18T06:56:00.048+02:00

Taking a break from packing, throwing out stuff and cleaning, we decided to go to our last German Kurbisfest at the Buschmann Winkelmann Farm.

We met our wonderful neighbours Antje, Thorsten and their beautiful girls, Jasmin and Josefine there for lunch (we were very late to join them, thankfully they were patient with us). Lunch was pumpkin soup and pumpkin schnitzel of course and they were delicious!

This year’s theme was fairytales. There were definitely not as many pumpkins as previous years, but it was still a fantastic display.

The Pied Piper Exhibit took 14 hours to assemble. There are 500 small mandarin pumpkins, 20 baby boo, 50 Rondini and 5 White Patisson pumpkins. The rats are made of 70 Blue Ballet pumpkins.

A dragon

Cinderella's pumpkin carriage.

The Cinderella Pumpkin display took 60 hours to assemble.

There were over 5,600 pumpkins used in the display.

Rupunzel's Tower

The Witches house from Hansel and Gretel

After looking at the displays, we wandered around the farm section, then Jasmin wanted to ride on the train.

Jasmin was quick to get into the driver’s seat, and was very pleased with herself beating a boy to the position. Josefine was too small to go by herself, so Antje got a free ride....well 2 actually, the girls wanted to go again! Thorsten was happy just to watch!

Nicole loves the colours of all the pumpkins, and as usual was trigger happy with her camera. Here is just a small sample of photos she took.

The quad bikes are always fun for the boys, and they had a great time going around the track. They both want to go faster...but of course are not allowed!

It was a great afternoon, warm weather, great friends, and of course we bought a few small pumpkins home to make soup in the apartment that evening!

Lecker!!! Lecker!!! Lecker!!!

The beginning of the move out

2010-09-17T06:57:00.017+02:00

Finally the day has come to pack up everything in our house. The last 12 months have come around really quickly, and it is hard to believe that we are actually leaving Berlin. We have had a lot of fun here the past 6 years, met some wonderful people, and done a lot of travelling. We will miss it!

The men were at the apartment by 7.30am, and started to bring in boxes, tape, paper and the largest rolls of bubble wrap we have ever seen. Cameron just wanted to unroll the bubble wrap and start popping! (Cameron kept sneaking in every now and again to pop some.)

So we watched as boxes were packed and packed, and Nicole and Phil just took coffee and tea orders for the men, and started to clean each room as it was packed up. Gee, these guys can clear a room quickly!
After a solid 8 hours, they left for the day, ready to come back again on Monday. In the meantime, we moved into the serviced apartment, as Nicole couldn’t bear the thought of having to move around boxes all weekend.

A large memory of Berlin to take back to Australia

2010-09-16T01:12:00.014+02:00

We had talked about purchasing a painting of Berlin for a very long time. We wanted a painting to remind us of our time in Berlin as it has been a huge part of our lives. Alexander was 5 and Cameron was 4 when we arrived in Berlin, both of them do not remember much of living in Sydney.

There is an old flower shop building near Heerstrasse S Bahn, which has been converted to plain large windows displaying paintings for a gallery in Friedrichstrasse. Atelier-Outlet. I have looked at the paintings in the windows every time I go to the kids school on the bus, and loved some of the paintings of Berlin I have seen in there.

So leaving it right to the last minute, the kids and I trekked into town and picked out this painting to take back to Australia. It’s not the best photo of the painting, but it reminds us of the 20th anniversary of the fall of the Berlin Wall that we went to last November. The bright colours in the front of the Brandenburg Gate remind us of the dominos, the blue sky reminds us of the rain that fell all night, and how Phil was on one side of the gate, and Nicole and the kids were on the other side, and we couldn’t get to each other.

We think it is a perfect painting to remember our time in Berlin! It was delivered the day before our packers were set to arrive, ready for bubble wrap to keep it protected on its way to Australia.

(P.S....at this stage I cannot tell you who the artist is, it was packed with the painting, and I didn't want to upwrap it....so I will edit this as soon as the container is unpacked in Australia and give credit to this artist)

A quick trip to Bolesławiec, Poland

2010-09-05T06:54:00.002+02:00

Before we leave Berlin, Nicole wanted just one more trip to Poland to add to the Polish Pottery collection she has started. When Nicole last went with Karen and the girls. Karen pointed out a castle near the town of Bolesławiec, that she highly recommended. Karen and her family had stayed at the Kliczków Castle for a weekend, and had a fabulous time.
A Castle.....Nicole always wanted to spend a night in a castle.....because she believes she truly is a princess.

So, we packed the car (with as few clothes as possible to allow more space in the boot for pottery), and drove to Poland.

We stopped at a small town for lunch (still in Germany), and found a cafe that offered pasta as well as bakery items. Alexander ordered a bowl of spaghetti with herb and tomato sauce. This first bowl came out, and as he was eating it, there was a piece of plastic in the bowl. We spoke to the waitress, who was very apologetic, and bought out a second bowl, again there was plastic in this one. 3rd time lucky, yes, again a bit of plastic. It looked like the sauce had been in a clear plastic tub, which had perhaps shattered before being put into the saucepan? That was our only explanation. After this, Alexander gave up, and ordered a croissant. We were wondering how the bill was going to look, as you can never tell here. We were pleasantly surprised that we didn’t have to pay for 3 bowls of spaghetti or the croissant!

We had the sat nav system working, and Phil wondered if there would be signs to tell us that we were crossing from Germany into Poland. I told him (from my experience last time), not to worry, you will know the exact moment you cross the border to Poland...you don’t even need a sign! Phil and the boys were very confused.

However, they were able to pinpoint the exact moment we crossed over the border, as the roads change dramatically. We have never seen so many pot holes, bumps and badly patched up jobs on a main road anywhere we have been! There were times when your bum lifted off the seat as we drove over bumps. The boys thought this was hilarious...Phil was dumbfounded!

We managed to get to the castle with only one back track, and check into the castle. The room was enormous, and lovely.

Nicole spent a lot of the time in the room exclaiming “I am a princess”

to which the boys would reply “No, you’re not!”

We set about for a wander around the castle grounds, and had fun exploring.

Our weekend package included dinner for 2 nights and breakfast. Meals were delicious, and a reasonable variety.

They also had a spa, so Nicole booked in for a manicure and pedicure, and Phil had a massage. Great prices and really fantastic. We booked our times at the spa to be back to back, so one of us could look after the kids and keep exploring the castle.

The wooded areas around the castle were great for exploring.

We found plenty of mushrooms.
We saw lots of people stopping in the woods picking mushrooms, and then selling them beside the roads.

Even some dung beetle cleaning up after some horses.

Our trip to Bolesławiec to buy some pottery was a little bit stressful, as our sat nav struggled with the different symbols in Polish writing, so finding some of the streets was a bit challenging. (Nicole had remembered to take the brochures from the factories she had visited with her previously).

Nicole is map challenged, and surprisingly, she managed to remember how to get to one of her favourite factories by memory....not usually the case for Nicole. We went to 4-5 factory outlets, and bought bits and pieces, and every store wrapped everything really well and placed in boxes to bring home easily.

Then it was back to the castle to relax and explore a bit more. There was a wedding reception at the castle on Saturday night , and another bridal couple came to castle to have photos taken. It was a fantastic settting for wedding photos!

The kids loved exploring the grounds. They found this great tree to climb into.

The kids enjoyed running around in the old moat (no water there now)

Nicole enjoyed her time being a princess, but sadly it had to end.

As we were leaving the castle, the boys (who were well and truly sick of hearing “I’m a princess”), said happily, "You are not a princess anymore mum!"

Funnily enough, the road out of Poland is new and amazingly smooth. Karen’s reason for this, is so that the Polish pottery you have just bought does not get smashed up on the way back into Germany!

On the way home we stopped at the Spreewald for lunch, where we experienced the longest wait for fish and chips we have ever had. We are pretty sure they forgot our order, and then we asked again, we are pretty sure they forgot that order as well. When we finally got the order, they also sent out free pancakes with apfelmuss as an apology. It was a nice afternoon, and we were able to watch the canal boats as we waited.

We bought a large bucket of Spreewald gherkins for our neighbour, Thorsten, because we know how much he loves them! (He was thrilled)

So, we got back to Berlin, and here is the pottery that Nicole brought back with her. Nicole, being Nicole, ensured that no patterns were the same. She took photos of the other pieces she already had with her to make sure she didn’t double up.

Now we just have to find some space to put all this pottery.

Hot days and Roman water fountains

2010-08-24T21:44:00.000+02:00

We spent 6 days in Italy, in temperatures which were normally 35-38 degrees. At about 2pm, the sun was directly overhead and it was very hot as we walked (and walked...) around Italy.

One great thing was the supply of fresh, cool water. It was possible to pay 3 Euros for a small bottle of drinking water near some of the monuments, or instead, keep the bottles and refill them at the many fountains. The water was delicious - cool and fresh. Apparently the Romans have been doing this since they used aquaducts - and we are highly appreciative. We would often refill our bottles and have a rinse to cool off - however Cameron's version of this sometimes looked more like a swim!!

We loved Italy. 6 days is nowhere near enough, but it was great for the family to get a 'taste' (and not just for bruschetta!)

Pantheon and the Trevi Fountian

2010-08-24T21:43:00.001+02:00

We finished our tour with Daniel, and started our own walking tour of Rome.

We headed for the Pantheon, with a stop for lunch (Bruschetta again for Nicole… are you starting to see a pattern??)

The Pantheon was originally built for all the Roman Gods. In the 7th century it was converted to a Roman Catholic Church dedicated to St. Mary, which guaranteed its survival. Its dome is about ½ a metre bigger in diameter than St Peters, apparently a planned move by Michaelangelo (when he designed St Peter's dome) to pay homage to the classical Roman style.

The altar.

The Pantheon has for the world's largest unreinforced concrete dome.
The oculus allows air to circulate inside, and there is a drainage system below the floor for the rain water during storms.

The sunlight gradually moves along the dome during the day.

Raphael is buried in the Pantheon, (1520)

Our next stop was the Trevi fountain, made famous by the film La Dolci Vita. The place was packed, but we managed to get next to the fountain to throw our coins (guaranteeing a return to Rome, YIPPEE).
It is estimated that 3,000 euros are thrown into the fountain every day. The money is gathered up each day and supports a supermarket for Rome's needy through a charity called Charity Caritas

We will all be back!!

Next some delicious Gelati, a cool off under a Roman fountain, and some shopping for Phil (a local football jersey for his collection).

We had heard several times about the ‘Spanish Steps’ – so we thought they must be worth a visit. We trekked across to them, and found… a set of steps. Later on, we read that it was simply a fashionable to meet, also that it is the widest and longest staircase in Europe. There is a rule enforced by local Police that you are not allowed to eat on the stairs, but it is always crowded with people.

We had a nice stroll home, via the four fountains, and the Piazza di Independence. We found a small, inexpensive but fantastic trattoria in the back streets away from the railway station, and enjoyed a lovely last dinner in Rome.

The next day, we had a sleep in and a late breakfast, followed by a short (2 hour) walk. We cruised a big circuit which included the Colosseum, and a shop that sold bags with Vespas on them (Nicole has been looking for this the entire holiday, seeing ass though she can't get herself a real Vespa...yet!!). We caught a coach to the airport and flew back to Berlin…at least for a few nights before our next adventure!!

Palatine Hill and the ancient forum

2010-08-24T21:43:00.000+02:00

After the Colosseum, Daniel took us over to Palatine Hill, which has many layers of history to delve into. Legend has it that this is were Romulus and Remus were found by the she-wolf. We looked at a few different archeological dig sites (which continue today).

Arch of Constantine (stands in between the Colosseum and Palatine Hill)

mosaic patterns in the walls

We moved down to the Roman Forum with its role at the heart of the community. The Senators Chamber, the Vestal Virgins and their temple, and other temples to the Roman Gods. The shrine where Julius Caeser was dragged out and burned after he was murdered in the nearby senate building.

These Victory Gods and Chariots with horses are very familiar to the Berlin Brandenburg Gate.

Fantastically decorated Corinthian Columns were everywhere!

OK, so from front on, this guy doesn't look like George.

(Nicole would like to apologise now for stalking him)

It was a fantastic tour, and we were overwhelmed with amazing facts. Daniel was a terrific guide, and highly recommended if you ever get to Rome!

One of the funny things was watching the hawkers on the streets. Selling everything from copy handbags to hats and sunglasses, they displayed their goods on sheets with strings at the corners. When the police came, it was like someone had scattered the pigeons! They would pull the string, their goods would collect into a swag, and they would run flat out from the police. We saw this happen several times, and the kids were highly amused. We also saw the police telling off a tourist for buying an umbrella from one of these illegal hawkers – for encouraging them.

The Colosseum

2010-08-24T21:42:00.000+02:00

We were up and about fairly early, to make it to our tour for its 10:00am start. Again, the added value of the born and bred Roman guide, Daniel (whose major is Roman archeology), made the story of Colosseum come to life, including stories of the gladiators, its construction, its use over time, and even Russell Crowe!
Here is Daniel who was able to find the small amount of shade on a very hot day in the Colosseum.

The tour reinforced how fantastic the Romans were at engineering and building.

The boys loved the gruesome tales that Daniel told us.

The Colosseum has served an interesting history - built on a swamp as a 'symbol of freedom following the overthrow of a megalomanic Roman Emperor, it first housed naval battles as shows. Later it was drained, and shows were put on here. Later, the underground sections were added, and using a wooden floor, trapdoors and hoists, the Romans were able to put on incredible shows. In its hayday, there would be 3 shows per day. In the morning there would be 'hunting' (men versus animals). At lunchtime the criminals would be killed (but theatrically, against animals or groups of trained warriors). In the afternoon, gladiators would be matched to fight each other. Rarely would the gladiators kill each other, but they put on evenly matched 'fighting shows'.

In its later life it was used as a cow paddock and a quarry, and even a round about before it became a museum. Given its history, it is surprising it is standing at all.

Outside you could have your photo taken with a many gladiators. (for a fee naturally)

Nicole was convinced this guy in the white tshirt was George's younger brother....the boys just laughed at her! Nicole spent her time in Italy looking out for George...no luck!

Vatican Museums and the Sistine Chapel

2010-08-23T21:41:00.042+02:00

We had a tour booked for the Vatican museums and the Sistine Chapel. We had a delicious lunch and easily found our meeting spot – and our great Irish guide, Rachel. She talked the whole way around, was incredibly knowledgable and interesting, and was superb with the kids on the tour. She really was ‘value add’ and we appreciated her guidance and passion for a subject close to her heart.

Of course, the museums and the Sistine Chapel (no photos allowed in the Sistine Chapel) are fantastic. As the second-most visited museum in the world (behind the Louvre), booking tickets is recommended, but being guided is an absolute must. There were so many details we would not have been made aware of, otherwise, the rich papal history, the works of art, the stories. Raphael rooms....and so much more.

Laoconnte and his sons. (one of Nicole's favourites)

A roman bath, the biggest one we have seen made from Egytpian Imperial Porphyry.

(these people were on the other side of the bath, not in it!)

Sculpture, Sphere Within Sphere" by Italian Sculptor, Arnaldo Pomodoro.

The Map room, shows you how decorated the Vatican Museum is. Rachel said that if you were to look at each piece of artwork in the Vatican Museum for 1 minute each, it would take you 10 years to see everything! Once you walk through the entire museum you have walked over 6.5 kilometres!!

The Sistine Chapel was fantastic, and the story of its creation by Michaelangelo even more superb. The boys loved hearing about Michaelangelo and his temper, and how one day he threw a hammer from the scaffolding at the Pope, who kept asking him "is it finished yet?" We also loved hearing how Michaelangelo added things into his paintings that were perhaps not appropriate for the Catholic values. Especially when he had painted God's naked butt, when questioned by the Pope, Michaelanglo responded, "He has a light piece of fabric covering his butt if you look closely, only impure minds would not be able to see this"
After this tour, we decided that the best way to see the Colosseum the next day was also on a guided tour, and Rachel helped us to book one for the next morning. With temperatures planned to be in excess of 37 degrees, we decided that the morning tour (with a few areas of shade) would be best.

We headed back to the Metro, caught the train back to the hotel, had dinner in a local restaurant and headed in for the night.

St Peters Basilica

2010-08-23T21:40:00.000+02:00

Our first day in Rome was mainly spent outside of Italy….in the Vatican City. We caught the Metro to St Peters, where we looked around Piazza San Pietro, designed by Gian Lorenzo Bernini

The Piazza is surrounded by 284 columns in rows of 4.

When you stand on this circluar disc in the Piazza, you can only see the first row of columns.

As soon as you stand to the side of the circle, you start to see the 4 rows of columns.

Services are held outside St Peters for pilgrims. Pope Benedict XVI was away at his Summer house in Tuscany when we visited.

Then we headed into St Peter's Basilica.

It is an amazing space. Every surface is adorned with beautiful paintings, sculture, metalwork and so forth.

One of the smaller domes.

A memorial plate for one of the previous Popes.

Part of the ceiling

The main altar

Gorgeous marble sculptures like this are everywhere.

The main dome, with fantastic sunlight streaming through the top.

Michaelangelo's Madonna and Child. The only statue Michaelangelo signed.

The beautiful stain glass window behind the main altar of a single dove.

We then climbed the 516 steps to the top of the Dome. (It advertised 551, but this was our tally!).

It is the tallest dome in the world, at 136.57 metres tall. The internal diameter is 41.47 meters, which is slightly smaller than the Pantheon and the Florence Cathedral. It was really hot in the narrow stairwell, and at times around the dome we were walking on angles.

The view from the top was great, looking over Rome and into the Vatican (the walk up was well worth it). We spotted a grass-fire in a nearby suburb, and watched as a firebombing helicopter swooped in to do its job.

Piazza San Pietro

Behind St Peters are private grounds in the Vatican City

It was another very hot day, and it was great that there was a fountain and toilets half way down. These fountains became our saviours around Italy – we would refill our waterbottles with cold, fresh water and drink it by the litre. Often we would take a splash as well to cool off.

Florence day 2

2010-08-22T21:37:00.000+02:00

After the ‘whirlwind’ tour with Francesca, we planned a slightly easier pace on our second day in Florence (the harsh heat was a major influence as well). We walked to the train station after a leisurely Italian breakfast (a cornetto and a cappuccino). From here we caught a bus to Piazza Michaelangelo. This overlooks the city of Florence and makes an excellent vantage point to see the city. Once again, the weather was hot!

Fantastic Views of Firenze.

A perfect place for wedding photos. We counted 6 wedding couples in the 30 minutes we were there. Those brides must have been sweltering in those dresses!

We walked down the hill back to town, and discovered a grotto. Cameron spotted several fish and a turtle. He was disappointed that he couldn’t take his shoes off and catch the turtle and bring it home with him!

We walked back into town via San Crocce, and then Braddagio, where Cameron had seen a building he was interested in seeing. It was glassed off, so we had a look from outside, before finding a lovely little trattoria for lunch.

Given the heat, we thought we might escape into the Uffizi Gallery. However, letting in 13 people every 20 minutes, the kids had calculated that it was a 2 ½ hour wait! We were not too fussed about going in (We were only really going in to escape the heat, they had been to the Accademia Gallery the day before, and we had planned the Vatican Museum later in the week, we didn't want to overload them with gallery visits). We abandoned this idea, and headed north to find a park with some shade and a place for the kids to run. Most of the gardens are private and behind giant walls, but we eventually found a great park to relax in. Cameron once again found a turtle in the fountain (2 in one day, what is with that??) and wanted to hop the fence and take him home. A gelati and then a visit to a department store (air conditioning and free toilets are an inviting proposition!!). We strolled through town, grabbed a coffee (and a Sprite for the kids). We headed back to the hotel, and sat for 30 minutes in the air conditioned foyer before heading for the station to catch our train to Rome.

Michaelangelo's David

2010-08-21T21:36:00.000+02:00

We walked to San Crocce Piazza for a delicious lunch (again a recommendation from Francesca), and began some valuable lessons on local cuisine, and importantly pronounciations. Lunch was delicious!
We marched across town to the Accademia Museum, which houses Michaelangelo’s David. It is so worth the effort, and we had pre-booked the entry tickets (well worth doing in high season). The staging of David is awesome, and your first view down the gallery to the majestic statue is wonderful. (No photos allowed in the gallery..but ut didn't stop some tourists...we settled for a postcard!)

Along with some of his unfinished works, it is really a treat to see. After searching for (and finding!) Cameron’s special cap (left in the gallery with the antique musical instruments), we were able to head off for gelati. Unfortunately it was time for Francesca to leave for the train. It was so nice to see her again, and her knowledge really added to our experience in Florence. Thanks Francesca, hope to see you again soon!

We headed for the pig market again, where Nicole found some lovely handbags to add to our luggage, Phil found a fussball store, and bought the local Firenze Fussball shirt, (he is growing a healthy collection of Fussball shirts, as Nicole increases her handbag collection)

Once again, Italian for Dinner. Nicole’s bruschetta addiction satisfied before heading in for the evening.

We have put our money into the piggy statue, so we will be back to Firenze for certain!

Florence and Francesca, our personal Firenze Guide.

2010-08-21T21:35:00.000+02:00

Nicole's penfriend, Francesca, joined us in Florence for the day. She lives 90 minutes away by train, and had previously worked as a tour guide in the city (our very own tour guide for the day!!). It was fantastic to see Francesca again, she had visited us in Sydney in 1998, pre children. It was lovely to be able to introduce her to our boys.

We started with Ponte Vecchio, the famous bridge that apparently Hitler loved so much that he refused to bomb it. All of the jewellery shops provided some window shopping on our way to Pallazo Pitti. It is called the Golden Bridge, as only jewelery stores are allowed to be on the bridge. It used to be markets with produce and fish. Above the stores are the Medici Royal Family Homes, and the smell of the markets was too much for them, so they declared the shops to only be leased by jewelery stores, as they don't smell like fish!

Recrossing the bridge, we found the pig market. The boys put a coin in the pig to ensure they would return to Florence. Cameron said “Why would I want to come back when I have already seen it?” Nicole answered "For the leather handbags, bruscetta and cappachinos"

Then on to the centre of town to Piazza di Republica.

Francesca and Nicole looked at the Tuscan Cookery books in the Piazza

We stopped for a coffee at a traditional coffee bar, Francesca's favourite. A quick slurp of coffee at the bar, the kids wolfing down some delicious cake, and we were underway (back out into the 38 degrees heat) again.

The next stop was Palazzo Vecchio and it was lovely and cool in the courtyards. We visited the outdoor sculpture museum and a statue of David. This sits a short walk from the entrance of the famous Uffizi gallery, with its European High Season queues.

Sculpture of Michaelangelo outside the Uffizi.

Locks on the chain, between the Uffizi and the River Arno.

We made our way through the old town to the famous Duomo cathedral. The Baptismal had some fantastic decorations (the paradise door) although it was difficult to get close with the tour groups.

We entered the cathedral and loved the design and the space. We didn’t love the canned announcement “Shhh…Silencio! Shhh…Silence” every few minutes.

The 24 hour clock fascinated us!

We decided due to the heat that we wouldn’t climb the Cupola here, but all agreed to do so when we visited St Peters at the Vatican.

We searched for shady side streets to keep us cool

Venice. Day 2

2010-08-20T21:33:00.009+02:00

After breakfast we headed out to explore more of Venice. Cameron and Alexander grabbed a piece of fruit from a market stall first, using their few words of Italian.

Next stop was a gondola ride. How could you visit Venice without a gondola ride?? With the day going to be over 35 degrees Celcius, an early gondola ride was in order. It was lovely, and once we were off the Grand Canal into the smaller canals, it was incredibly peaceful. Cameron spotted loads of crabs and fish in the canals.

Following the gondola ride, we ordered some fruit juice smoothies, and started a walk that would take us over the Rialto bridge and down to Zattere, where we planned to catch a ferry.

The walk demonstrated that once you were off the main streets, even in the peak of summer the backstreets are peaceful and quiet, and cool in the shade.

We loved how you could walk through narrow street and all of a sudden you were standing in the middle of a Piazza.

The boys loved this doorbell and letterbox set up!

Nicole was worried that if she lived here, the clothes pegs would not be strong enough and her knickers would end up in a passing by gondola!

We found a lovely little pizzeria for a slice of Pizza on the run. We reached the ferry dock with time to spare, and grabbed a cappuccino at the dockside (with the most hostile waitress I have ever met!) However, they had a toilet, which made it a great value cappuchino (saving 4 x 1.50 Euro in the process!).
We then had a ferry ride which took us around the islands including Murano, the glass blowing island. A nice rest for the feet, and a lovely way to get a different view of Venice.

After the ferry, we had a lovely walk through the backstreets again, ending up with a gelati for the kids.

We collected our bags and headed for the train station. With a late change of platform, and a quick race to the other end of the station, we boarded the Eurostar train to Florence. There we found our hotel and enjoyed some air conditioning and hot water for showers.

Venice. Day 1

2010-08-19T21:30:00.001+02:00

After being home 3 days, clothes washed and dried, we repacked our bags and boarded our next flight – this time to Italy. Our first stop was Venice, where we caught a coach from the airport onto the islands. From there, we carried our trusty bags the 800 metres up and down bridges and steps, to our little hotel. We stuck our bags into storage and immediately headed out for the afternoon.

The first thing was to have our first delicious Italian lunch. The idea of little Trattorias and Osterias that serve fresh, delicious food. Nicole became addicted to Buschetta in a hurry!

We set out into the hot Venetian afternoon and walked, without a map, through the winding lanes and over the canals to St Marco’s Piazza.

We were suprised to see the Hari Krishna's out and about...a sight we haven't seen for years!

The colours of the chillis were fantastic!

We realized in the hot summer sun that we had forgotten to pack hats (in the gray Berlin morning, probably an easy ‘miss’). After buying ‘Italia’ caps and sunnies for Alexander and Phil, and a sunhat for Nicole (Cameron was the only one who remembered to pack a hat!), we lined up and enjoyed our visit to St Marco’s, and stroll through the Piazza and along the waterfront.

After the most expensive visit to a toilet I have ever encountered (1.50 Euro!!), we headed off for some well earned Gelati. The first of many in the hot Italian sun!!

A walk via the Rialto bridge and back for a cold shower (the boiler at the hotel stopped working) and then out for dinner.

Bye Bye Emily

2010-08-16T21:05:00.003+02:00

A sad afternoon when we had our last icecream with Emily, Charlie and Nicola. Emily and Alexander have been friends since the first day Alexander attended the school here. Emily and family are off to England after 6 years in Berlin.

I am sure it won't be the last we see of them! Thank goodness for email connections!

Happy 10th Birthday Cameron

2010-08-16T09:07:00.006+02:00

We landed into Berlin at 11.45pm on the Sunday night. The clock ticked over to midnight while we waited for our bags to come off the plane, and then it was Cameron's birthday!

Cameron wanted to open his presents when we got back to our house at 12.30am....but we managed to get him into bed and wait till the morning.

Unfortunately Phil had an early morning meeting on Monday morning, and he had gone to work before Nicole and Alexander had woken up.

Cameron opened one of his presents from Alexander in the morning, a Super Mario game, and that kept him happy during the day.

We went out in the afternoon to meet some friends and have ice cream,(see later post). Then it was time to come home and get dinner ready. The birthday dinner that was requested was Pizza (with no vegetables), and Nigella Lawson's chocolate cloud cake. So Nicole made separate pizza bases so everyone could decorate their own pizzas....Cameron - no vegies, Alexander - lots of vegies. Then it was time fot the delicious cake and opening presents.

It was a relaxing day after 4 busy days in Barcelona, and Cameron got to play his new computer game and lego later.

Picasso Museum

2010-08-15T20:50:00.005+02:00

After lunch we headed to the Picasso Museum. This museum holds a lot of his early work, and there was some fantastic rooms of his early work, and progression to Cubist art.

We really enjoyed this museum, expecially the rooms which showed his interpretations of Las Meninas, a painting by a Spanish painter, Diego Velázquez in 1656.

The paintings by Picasso showed different studies of this painting in a cubist way.

The boys really enjoyed the Pigeon paintings as well.

The museum itself is situated in 5 palaces that stood together and have been renovated. Some of the walls and ceilings have been restored to their original form.

Then it was time to collect our bags from the hotel and make our way to the airport bus. The boys were exhausted and we had to pass the airport bus to get to our hotel. So Phil left Nicole and the boys at the main square while he raced back to get the bags.

While the kids waited for Phil, they enjoyed chasing the pigeons, and Nicole enjoyed watching the glamour photos being taken beside the fountain.

Checked in and a quick drink while waiting for the plane to be prepared and back to Berlin. We are so glad we managed to get to Barcelona...we will be back in 20 years once Sagrada Familia is totally finished!

La Rambla Street Artists and Markets

2010-08-15T20:46:00.012+02:00

The morning started off with checking out of the hotel and leaving our bags for pick up later that afternoon, and a visit to breakfast at Tapa Tapa, a restaurant near Casa Batlló. We had 2 delicious breakfasts there, and a fantastic Tapas dinner there the previous night.

We walked along La Rambla, the main street of Barcelona and enjoyed watching some of the street artists.

There were an interesting pet market along the street as well as paintings.We were only able to take photos of the animals, not of the artists work.

Pickpocketed, a cable car ride and finally the beach.

2010-08-14T23:35:00.015+02:00

After 2 long days of Gaudi touring, we thought we would take the boys to the beach for a few hours. We went back to the hotel, got the swimming gear and headed to the station closest to the cable car to take us to the beach.
As we got out of the train station, we were a bit disorientated to which direction we were supposed to head to get to the cable car. We stood for a few minutes, crossed the road, stood for a few more minutes, worked out the right direction, crossed the road again and headed up a street.

In this time, with maps in hand, and looking here and there, some sneaky local managed to open up 3 of the pockets on Phil's bag, and remove his wallet. It wasn't until a few minutes later that we realised the pockets had been opened and the wallet had gone. As we stood there in disbelief, all of a sudden a man appeared with Phil's wallet in hand, saying that he had seen a small kid steal the wallet. The cards were all there, but 100 euros in cash had disappeared. It wasn't until later that we thought the man had to be in on the whole deal, as how would he have known who to give the wallet back to. We decided that their "deal" was to take the money, give the wallet back and then we wouldn't need to go to the police to report it, and their little scam would be able to continue on unsuspecting tourists.

Still a bit shocked we found our way to the cable car and made our way over to the beach.

The kids loved the beach, building castles and swimming in the water.

It was a great end to the day after a lot of walking and the pickpocket incident.

Casa Milà/La Pedrera

2010-08-14T23:17:00.060+02:00

After Casa Batlló and lunch, we headed to Casa Milà, also known as La Pedrera at No 92 Passeig de Gràcia. Casa Milà was designed by Antoni Gaudi and built between 1905–1910. It is an apartment building, but has been given the nickname of "La Pedrera", which is Catalan for "The Quarry", as the locals thought the outside of the apartments in their grey/brown color looked half built.

It was a great place to visit as our final Gaudi tourist visit. On the top floor is an exhibition of Gaudi's architecture, and was a great summary of all of the work we had seen in the previous days.
There were lots of models of Gaudi's buildings, and some great examples of how he came up with the shapes of his buildings. One way was to hang chains or string with weights from the ceiling.

Then he looked at the chains or string from a mirror sitting below the chains to give a reverse reflection and used these as the basis of his buildings.

This way of working enabled Gaudi to work with materials that were thinner that used previously in arches.

We had roof access, and it was great to see different sculptures and the water towers on top of the building.

There was a sea breeze and it was really pleasant to sit on the stairs, lean against the cool mosaic tiles of the water towers and just enjoy the view.

One of the apartments has been refurbished to look as it would have in the early 1910's.

complete with a sewing room!!!!

The inner courtyards provided lots of interesting corners as well.

Casa Batlló

2010-08-14T22:58:00.020+02:00

After a delicious breakfast at Tapa Tapa, and Cameron getting a kiss from the waitress before we left, we headed across the street to Casa Batlló. It was so nice not to have to wait in line with our tickets bought the previous evening.

The original building was designed by Josep Maria Jujol, built in 1877. It was remodelled by Antoni Gaudi in 1904–1906. There was very few straight lines in the building. The rooms were spectacular, and it was a fantastic place to explore, and we all found different parts of rooms that amazed us. Our tickets included an audio guide which gave us a really good description of each room and an insight to Antoni Gaudi.

After handing in our audio guides, Nicole wanted to take a few photos of the lift and some cupboards, and go to the toilet before our next stop. There were 2 doors to 2 sets of toilets for females. The first 2 toilets were occupied, and the second door had one free toilet which Nicole went to. When she came out of the toilet, the main door had been locked from the outside. It was then that she assumed that she was in the staff female toilets and had been locked in. About 30 minutes beforehand, Phil's mobile had run out of battery ,and there was nothing to do but wait until the next female staff member needed to go to the bathroom....about a 10 minute wait. The boys and Phil are used to having to wait for Nicole to come out of the toilet, as the female queues are always long. Alexander was sent back into the apartments to try and find Nicole, just as the staff member had unlocked the door. So the boys thought that was a funny end to the visit.

Font Màgica

2010-08-13T22:30:00.014+02:00

After a delicious meal of Spanish Tapas, we headed to the Font Màgica at Montjuïc.

The fountain sits below the National Art Museum of Catalonia, Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya. The building and fountain was built for the 1929 World Fair. The fountain was badly damaged during the Spanish Civil War, and repaired around 1955. The fountain was completely restored by the 1992 Olympics, and now every evening beginning at 9pm to 11pm in the Summer, a light, music and water display runs every 1/2 hour.

The crowds begin....

The light show begins and hundreds of cameras begin to flash!

The kids really enjoyed the display and sang along to some of the music, although Cameron thought there should be some Black Eyed Peas songs included!

We headed back to the hotel, and got off at our train stop, but got out the wrong exit. Fortuitously we ended up right outside the "Casa Batlló". It was open for nightly visits. By this time we had been "touring" Barcelona for nearly 12 hours, and did not think we could really enjoy the house. However we took the time to go to the empty cashier window to ask if we could buy our tickets to the house for the following morning. We cannot tell you how pleased we were when the man behind the glass window said of course we can, and then we did not have to line up in the morning to visit the apartment building. We readily handed over the credit card and got 4 tickets in our hands. Meanwhile the boys were looking in the door of the Casa Batlló, and were talking to a man dressed in a suit with a walking stick in his hand. he shook the boys hands and introduced himself as Antoni Gaudi. To which Cameron quickly replied "Didn't you get hit by a tram and die?". A little bit shocked actor replied that yes, he had been hit by a tram...but he had been frozen in time, and only was woken up every Thursday and Friday nights during the Summer to welcome people to his apartments. (Much to the amusement of the boys).

So we said good night to Antoni Gaudi and headed back to our hotel for a well earned sleep, ready to see Casa Batlló in the morning, without waiting in a queue.

Parc Güell

2010-08-13T22:04:00.013+02:00

After being overwhelmed by Sagrada Familia, we headed to Parc Güell. Parc Güell sits in the hills overlooking the city of Barcelona. Eusebi Güell wanted to establish a park for the Barcelona aristocracy and commissioned Antoni Gaudi to design the Park. (it's a busy tourist destination!)

The main entrance of the park has 2 pavillions at either side of the main gate which are covered in bright mosaics. Inside the main entrance is a fantastic sculpture of a salamander covered in bright mosaic tiles, with a discreet water feature. Walls, ceilings and benches are covered with bright mosaic pieces. Gaudi recycles old ceramic plates and glass in his mosaics and created a magical feel around the park.

The view from the park shows how the Sagrada Familia Church overlooks Barcelona.

The covered mosaic seats are great to sit, watch the people and look over the city of Barcelona

(if you can find a spare few seats!)

Underneath the seating area are pillars and masaic tiled ceilings

using all sorts of recycled glass and ceramics

The mosaic salamander is a highlight of the park.

Gaudi lived in one of the houses in the park from 1906 - 1925, now called "Casa Museu Gaudí". The museum is only small, but has some great "Art Nouveau" pieces of furniture of the time.

Sagrada Família

2010-08-13T21:37:00.084+02:00

We headed to Sagrada Família after breakfast and Nicole joined the queue that went right around the back of the church along the footpath. Phil took the boys for a walk, while Nicole shuffled along the footpath in the steady queue, and cast on a new knitting project to fill in the time.

Finally we got to the front of the queue, paid for our tickets and audio guides, and then joined the queue to get the audio guide (thankfully this queue was not so long).
With audio guides firmly placed on our heads, we began the tour of the church, and WOW, we were impressed.

The Sagrada Familia was originally designed by Francesc del Villar in 1882. Francesc del Villar resigned after only a year after the beginning of the project. Antoni Gaudi took over as architect for the church and redesigned the entire church. He worked on the project from 1883 and devoted the last 15 years of his life to the construction of the church. Gaudi died in 1926 (tragically, he was hit by a tram and died a few days later), and work continued on the church until the beginning of the Spanish Civil War in 1936.

There is so much to say about the church, and we could go on and on, but instead of taking up lots of space on the blog, it is well worth visiting the main site here, to read all about the church. Take some time to read about the history, construction, symbology, architecture, ad so much more...it is the most remarkable church we have ever seen. Nicole even remarked that if this was the church near her house, she would be religious, just so she could go every week!
The church is due to be totally finished by 2026. Nicole is very keen to get back to see the church in "working order" once it is finished...stay tuned!

and we took MANY photos, here are just a very small portion of them.

A puzzle that appears on doors and other parts of the church, can you work out the puzzle??

The front doors are covered in letters, some stand out more than others.

The skull at the very bottom of the door.

The altar, which is due to be finished in September/October for when the Pope visits.

Part of the ceiling in the church.

Stain Glass windows are spectacular.

This school is was built on the site of the chuch for the children of the builders. This small building is an amazing piece of architecture, using the mimimuim of supplies as possible.

Every surface of the church is incredible.

Small Spires

and larger ones

Statues adorn many of the exterior surfaces.

Do check out the main website for more amazing pictures of this incredible church, you will not be disappointed!

Barcelona Aquarium

2010-08-12T16:35:00.035+02:00

Cameron picked up a pamplet at the hotel about the Barcelona Aquarium . He loves animals and fish, and was keen (well more than keen) to visit the Barcelona Aquarium. With phrases like "I really need to go to the aquarium so I can learn all the different types of fish that I will catch when I go fishing with Pa", and "Dad, you need to know all the different types of fish and sharks for when you go scuba diving".
The aquarium is open until late, and the queue wasn't too long, we decided to go for a visit after we had been to the Monument a Colom, and a walk along the harbour.

It is a great aquarium, and it has a fantastic shark tunnel that has a slow travelator through it, so you can stand on the travelator and watch above. We bought a booklet with our tickets for 3 euro and it was full of interesting facts and pictures of some of the fish and sharks that were in the aquarium.

The highlight for the boys was to learn how to tell the differences between a female and a male shark. whilewe were going through the tunnel, Cameron kept pointing out the sex of each shark that came close to us, and took photos as we went. So now we will let you know how to tell whether a male or female shark is attacking you while you are next surfing at Bondi Beach.

Male sharks do not have a penis, they have 2 claspers. For more detailed information click on this link...

In the gift shop, there was a huge box of Paul the Octopus toys! We had a good laugh at those. During the World Cup in South Africa a few months ago, Paul the Octopus in Germany choose who would win matches, and Paul chose Spain as the winner for 2010! Paul is a bit of a hero in Spain!!!

La Rambla and the Monument a Colom

2010-08-12T15:39:00.058+02:00

After a wander around the old town we stopped at a cafe on the main street of Barcelona, La Rambla. We ordered 1 Sprite and 1 beer after seeing the size of the glasses...the only glasses they served drinks in.

It took us a long time to drink these ones!

Something that we saw lots of, but were often too slow to catch were the "glam photos". Girls draped over edges of fountains, in front of tourist places...it was quite fun to watch, they were all so serious!

The Market just off La Rambla

Joan Miró inspired mosaic on the main walkway.

Fantastic tiles along the side of a shop front.

At the end of La Rambla towards the harbour is the Monument a Colom. A 60 metre column erected at the site where Christopher Columbus returned to Spain after his first voyage to America. He landed in Barcelona on March 15th 1493, where he reported to Queen Isabella and Ferdinand about his journey.

In a civilised way, you can go up a lift to the top at the viewing tower, which we thought would be a good way to see Barcelona from above.

(Much easier than going round and around a set of stairs in the column (as we have done many times in Europe!)

It was a long long way down!

Great Views!

Harbour Views

La Rambla, one tree lined street!

At the base of the column were lion statues, perfect to climb on top of!

It was a great way to see some of Barcelona from a height.

Barcelona

2010-08-12T15:26:00.026+02:00

After 5 days back in Berlin, clothes washed and bags repacked, we headed to the airport to fly to Barcelona for 4 days.

A good flight and we arrived at the Barcelona airport, realising we had no idea how we were getting to the hotel from the airport. So a cup of coffee and lunch in the airport, a visit to the information counter, and we found the easiest way to our hotel was by the airport bus.

Our hotel room wasn't ready (but we assumed that would be the case at noon). So our bags went into the storage room, we grabbed our maps and tourist guides and off we headed into the city.

A warm day, and the buildings, apartment buildings and alleyways always amaze Nicole, (and her camera begins to click away). Here are a few photos of some of the buildings that Nicole loved.

Morning in Sweden. Afternoon in Denmark. Evening in Germany.

2010-08-06T23:35:00.002+02:00

Sadly the journey was over, and it was time to leave Norway and Sweden. We had such a fantastic 2 weeks.

We stopped in Køge for morning tea. It is a pretty little town, with the oldest half timbered building in Denmark. It was built in 1527. It is now part of the Køge library.

The Køge museum was built in 1619.

We only stayed in Køge for less than an hour. The parking was only a 1 hour limit, and there were a few parking officers checking time limits on cars. We didn't want to take any chances on getting a ticket!

We had an hour spare before we needed to be at the ferry terminal, so we stopped at a beach at Gedesby. The sand was soft and the weather was great. The kids had a great time building sand castles and moats, and had a quick swim before we went to the ferry.

The ferry ride was relaxing, and then a 3 hour drive back to Berlin to start the loads of washing.

It was a great 2 weeks!

Ystad Houses

2010-08-05T23:40:00.013+02:00

Nicole's love of medieval architecture continues, with lots of photos.
She wonders if she can find a medieval village in the suburbs of Melbourne to live in.....

Ystad

2010-08-05T23:34:00.043+02:00

Ystad is well known for its night watchman. Every evening, from 9.15pm to 1am, he sounds the copper horn in 4 directions from the tower in the church of Saint Maria church. Tbhis tradition dates back to the 17th century. Blowing the horn every 15 minutes was a call to the community that all was well. We heard the horn a few times during the evening, but it did not keep us awake once we went to bed.

Gråbrödraklostret, is the monastery, daing from 1267. In the 1530's the ,monks were evicted and the building became owned by the state. Since then it was used as a home for poor and sick people. a distillery and a museum.

The Konsthantverkarnas building was built in 1640. The artwork inside was fantastic.

We loved this monk statue outside the Gråbrödraklostret. The flowers surrounding him in the garden bed were an amzing red, grey and black. They looked great.

Inside the Santa maria church was a musical group called Trion Glöd . They were fantastic, and we enjoyed listening to their rendition of "Somewhere over the rainbow" Nicole's favourite song.

It also is one of Cameron's favourite jokes.

Where do you weigh a pie?

Answer

Somewhere over the Rainbow

Ales Stenar

2010-08-05T23:33:00.021+02:00

Ales Stenar is the site of Sweden's largest preserved stone ship. The ship consists of 59 boulders in the form of a 67 metre long, 19 metre wide ship.
It is believed the boulders was erected during 500-1000 AD.

The stones work as a guide to the Summer and Winter Solstice, and calender. It is an amzaing formation of rocks. We listened to the guide give a talk in Swedish, (so not much was understood), but we were able to get the gist of what he was talking about, when he was pointing to the different rocks and the sun.

For more information on the Ales Stenar go the the following website, by Bob Lind.

Towards Ales Stenar

2010-08-05T13:21:00.005+02:00

More interesting houses....

Swedish hay-fields.